Heads or Tails
by zeldris
Summary: There's a lot of things weird going on in my life. I can't seem to catch a break from any of my friends, I'm positive half of the student body is out to get me, and, don't let me forget, Gray Fullbuster. Who I may or may not be in love with. Oops. AU, gray/juvia and other pairings.
1. That's the general idea

**Heads or Tails**

**(Tumblr prompt, write the most OOC Juvia you have ever written.)**

* * *

_Breathe in, breathe out. That's it Juvia, only three more months of this to go._

Who am I fucking kidding, school is hell. Breathing isn't going to help, so might as well suck in a breath and get this over with.

Twisting open my locker, I sifted through the strewn about papers to retrieve my Government supplies. Government blows, the only person I know there is Erza and we sit really far away so the only thing we can do is share '_are you fucking serious' _looks when Natsu decides it's an excellent idea to break into song in the middle of class.

Right. Fuck me into a different dimension.

I might enjoy school more if I wasn't as antisocial as I happened to be, but, life being life; I would rather gouge my eyes out with blunt forks than talk to the brainless generation that I happen to belong to.

Super, duper unfortunate for me, apparently, in this generation, I am considered 'hot'. What does that even mean? Do I have a nice face? Is my lengthy, wavy blue hair somehow enticing to the opposing gender? Do my long, creamy legs tempt boys to jump me in the hall? Does my larger-than-average bust appeal to males?

Okay, so maybe I do get where they're coming from. But, my 'bitch face', as Lucy _so kindly _nicknamed my 24/7 facial expression, tended to scare people off when they even came near me to ask for a pencil.

Oops.

To _some _people though, I'm invisible. Good. I don't want to be seen by any of these freaks anyways.

However, there is _one_ soul who I wouldn't mind getting even a little bit of positive attention from.

There is _one _secret I harbor from my estranged group of friends.

And that secret is Gray Fullbuster.

Now, if you ever met me in life you would think _why the __**fuck **__would Juvia Lockser even think about an air-headed dumbass whose only talent is whacking a stick at a puck aggressively until it flies into a plastic-based net for sport?_

And the simple answer is, I have the world's biggest fucking soft cottony crush on him.

…Okay, so maybe it's not so simple after all.

Over the almost four years of fuck-me-over-sideways shit everyone calls 'high school', I have just slowly fallen under the spell of Gray Fullbuster. How you ask? Well…oh god, this is going to sound extremely creepy, but it really isn't, I swear. I've sort of…watched him.

I don't really remember the first time I saw him, but I do remember thinking _well Jesus fucking jolly ranchers is he attractive, I mean wow he is straight out of a magazine hot._

And then I saw him go up to his idiot friends and think _what a shame, that attractive being is simply a potato-salad-for-brains waste of oxygen._

But there was something about him, something I couldn't put my finger on that I could only assume to be the _mysterious _element that girls find oh-so-lovely about their male specimens.

And it only got fucking better from there.

He was _smart._

Like actually 'woah you have the potential to win a Nobel Prize' smart.

Un-fucking-fortunately he hid that amazing talent from his dumb fuck friends.

And you might ask _why Juvia, where did you happen to get this particular bit of info? _And I would respond with, _buckle up motherfucker, because I have a story to learn you._

Freshman year, English. My teacher found out that I was the one who was mumbling all those delicious curse words under their breath during tests, and for punishment I had to sort and help grade end of the semester essays.

He was one fucking lazy ass teacher.

But anyways, in that treacherously boring time I was forced to serve, I happened to stumble across the essay on ice formations in the North Pole by none other than Gray Fullbuster.

Now I am a snake of a woman, so I read his little essay in hope for some entertainment from whatever unintelligent shit he happened to pull out of his ass.

But I was _wrong._

Dead wrong, in fact.

His essay was so brilliant I remember rethinking my life decisions for forty-five minutes afterwards, and now I have this habit of using biodegradable items and recycling whenever possible.

So because of some hippy-ass essay that by simple chance I had snagged, I had developed a teensy infatuation with that raven-haired bastard.

And contrary to popular belief that crushes last for a month at the most, let myself be a shining example that crushes only grow to be much too fucking heavy to hold up and now I am pretty much drowning in admiration.

Fucking pathetic.

Everything that he does, from his adorable laugh to his sexy smirk makes me want to throw myself out of a fucking window and sob until I drown in my own tears.

So here I am, sitting in Government class and listening to the teacher (ha, not really) and waiting uber impatiently for me to get the hell out of high school and my ass into college, because the second I stop seeing Gray is the second the weight of this crush is yanked off of my shoulders and tossed into oblivion.

Only three more months.

My thoughts are thrown off track when Erza's snort of laughter snags my attention, just in time to see Natsu face-down on the floor.

I laughed as well, seeing Natsu in pain brings me much joy.

Just kidding. I'm not that bitchy, jeez.

But I was laughing, because his idiocy is a source of entertainment and who am I to turn that shit down?

"Mr. Dragneel, may I ask as to why you are upside-down?" Mr. Taylor inquired, less entertained than the rest of us.

Natsu pushed himself off of the ground with a squeak of protest from his desk as his weight returned.

"Yes you may, and that information is classified." He said in that smart-ass voice that makes my want to smack him with a baseball bat.

"Alright, and as teacher of this class, I advise you not to disrupt the class again, or I might be forced to reveal your test results to the entire class."

Instantly his face went red and he shut up. There was a collective "ooh, burn!" (because yes, as mature 17 and 18 year olds, we all have the mindset of 12 year olds) and Mr. Taylor returned to his pointless lecturing.

The only thing keeping me awake during the remainder of class were the two fingers propped on my left temple, and the hurried buzz of whispers from behind me.

When I finally escaped (albeit hurriedly) Erza barely caught up to me.

"Ugh, was it just me, or was that particularly unbearable?" She asked, putting y thoughts into words absolutely perfectly, as she always did.

Out of everyone in my group of friends, Erza is probably the most like me. Which always leaves me asking _how the hell did she ever get a boyfriend?_

But, I always wave those thoughts away because I like Jellal a lot, partial to the fact he dislikes idiots almost as much as Erza and I do.

Which leaves Levy, Lucy, and Lisanna. The three L's. They all find idiocy 'adorable', but, much like Erza and I, keep to ourselves.

Which I guess is why we all click.

"It wasn't just you, I think Natsu was trying _extra _hard to be a dumbass today." I answered flatly, turning a sharp corner into a flood of people with a laughing Erza by my side.

"I would pity Mr. Taylor, if he wasn't such a hard-ass prick." Erza said with a distasteful wrinkle of her nose.

"He needs to pull whatever the hell it was that died out of his ass," I hadn't even notice Jellal sidle up next to us in the commotion of the hallway.

"Knowing him, it was probably a ferret." I said with a wry smirk, remembering the distant rumor of his affairs with Mrs. Connelly's ferret, Webster.

"I almost forgot about that." Erza said accusingly, I didn't blame her, nobody wants to envision that.

"Almost," Jellal chastised. Erza smiled affectionately, it was rare to get one of those out of her, but if anyone could pull it off, it would be Jellal.

In fact, it was pretty rare to get anything out of her if you weren't her friend. Erza was scary as all fuck, and had mastered the bitch face, while I was still intermediate.

"Well, I gotta get to Calc. See you guys in English?" Jellal asked rhetorically, waving us with one hand as he disappeared back into the crowd from which he came.

"Bye," Erza said tardily, long after Jellal had left. I gave her a knowing smile and a thin blush painted her cheeks as she parted so that she could get to her Latin class.

I had Physics next. Tch, talk about a load of useless shit I never want to have to use again. If my future profession involves dropping bowling balls out of windows and calculating the velocity, I guess I'd have to eat those words, but something tells me that only the few actually get to implicate their physics knowledge into their future job.

But…the class was interesting enough, I sat in the back corner of the room and had an almost _perfect _view of Gray's face where he sat opposite to me.

He had this awful habit of running his hands through his hair.

When I say awful, of course I mean _amazing _but who am I kidding, _everything _that boy does is amazing.

I walked into the class, a lot more positive than an hour before, and saw Levy frantically waving me towards her and Lucy, who must've had something important to tell me.

Knowing them, I probably didn't give even two shits about whatever tidbit of gossip they had managed to pick up, but I loved them so I would fake it.

"Oh my goodness, you'll never guess what Lu-Lu heard Juju-bee!" Levy exclaimed, her bright blue hair shaking from all the bouncing that she was doing in her chair. I can't say I'm all too fond of her nickname for me, but I was extremely fond of Levy herself (honestly, who wasn't?) so I let it slide.

"What is it Lev? Did little Timmy fall down the well?" I teased. Her playful glare made me smile as I took my seat, and allowed myself a fleeting glance at Gray.

Ugh, he should _not _be allowed to wear black. He looked positively _criminal._

"Actually, no. I heard that Mira and Laxus finally hooked up!" Lucy said, slamming her hands on her desk like this bit of gossip was god's word.

My eyebrows immediately raised in surprise. Laxus was so many leagues below Mira, it was almost laughable. But then again, Mira is out of _everyone's _league.

"Wow, that's…that's interesting." I said, my interest barely peaking, but my weak lie was enough to fool both Lucy and Levy.

Levy and Lucy are easily the closest out of all of us, they've been friends for what seems like an eternity. Lucy is tall, and _gorgeous. _She has flowy blonde hair and warm brown eyes, and sassy attitude to boot. Levy is short, and _fucking adorable._ Nobody can out-cute Levy, with her floofy blue hair and loving brown eyes she could charm a serial killer.

Lisanna was barely on time, her seat is next to Lucy and she smoothed her silvery hair down so that it wasn't wild and free like Levy's.

"I forgot my notebook, _again_." Lisanna said with a sigh of relief. Honestly, Lisanna is so forgetful I frequently wonder how she hasn't come to school naked yet.

"Again? Damn Lis, you need to just walk around with everything." Lucy suggested.

"I don't understand why you don't just wear your backpack." I said flatly. Lisanna gave me the 'I've told you this before' look and shook her head.

"Mira says it'll ruin my outfit!" She wailed in anguish, plopping her stuff on her desk and resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

They started talking about the Mira and Laxus rumor, and I found myself losing interest extremely quickly.

And my mind instantly wandered back to Gray. Accompanied soon by my eyes.

His hair looked _so _soft. I swear, I would pay good money just to run my fingers through it. And the way his muscles twitched when he tapped his pen against his paper was _extremely distracting._

Man, class has only been going for twelve seconds and already I'm out of breath.

Mr. Baker, a short and timid man, scurried into the classroom only to announce that he'd be back in a few minutes, leaving the class to blab as loud as it pleased.

As for me, I continued stealing glances at Gray, completely unbeknownst to him.

At least, I hope.

"Juv! What are you thinking so hard about?" Lisanna asked.

"Just what would have Mr. Baker in such a hurry is all," I covered expertly, years of lying under pressure coming to support me.

"Hm. Maybe his cat died." Lucy said blankly. Looks like her mind was elsewhere too.

"Uh oh, I know who you're thinking about," Levy sang tauntingly. This was new, usually Lucy having a new crush was always the topic at hand.

"Ohmygosh, who, who?!" Lisanna asked excitedly, leaning forward in her desk as Lucy blushed.

"It's nothing." She mumbled, but from that tone I knew that it definitely was not nothing.

"It's Natsu~" Levy whispered, and I felt my mind go numb.

Lucy liked _Natsu? _That dumb as a bag of rocks pink haired punk?

"No it isn't!" Lucy hissed, but Levy and Lisanna were already squealing. I wanted to grab Lucy and smack her extremely hard. What is wrong with her? _Natsu?_ She could do a million times better!

But then again, a million times zero is zero.

I sighed in both confusion, and anguish. I knew that if Levy said it, then it must be true.

God this sucks. Do you know what I'm going to have to endure now? Hours upon hours of 'oh my god~ Natsu looked soooo cute today!'

But then again, maybe Erza would be able to knock some sense into her…

Mr. Baker came bustling into the room, piles of paper in his scrawny arms as he nearly toppled over trying to set them on his desk. A chorus of giggles took the room by storm when he screamed at an extremely high pitch as he dropped what must've been an important paper.

As Mr. Baker introduced the lesson for the day, I found myself almost slipping into a Gray-induced coma. It's like he's _trying _to kill me, I mean, come on dude, stop running your fingers through your silky hair it's making my chest hurt.

I groaned softly as I heard the words 'open your textbook'. Open your textbook was the ultimate death sentence. You would know too, if you had to hear Mr. Baker's voice. It was sort of high pitched, and it sort of made your ears want to commit suicide.

"And so, if we put the Doppler Effect…well, _into effect,_" Mr. Baker laughed at his own wannabe joke. His laugh is the grossest thing I have ever heard, sort of like a wheezing kitten that is dying of lung cancer.

It seemed that Gray was just as disgusted by his laugh, because he sort of recoiled, like he had been slapped by the sound of his laugh.

And _that _my dear fuckers, is when it happened.

Gray Fullbuster, for the first time in his fucking attractive life, turned around.

_Fuck._

Thanks to my quick reflexes, I managed to flick my gaze back to Mr. Baker just in time so that Gray didn't see me drooling over him.

But _fuck_. He's looking at me. I can feel his gaze, it's burning a searing hot hole in my head.

What the hell do I do? I've been on the opposing side of this situation more than humanly possible, but, I mean, _fuck. _He's totally staring at me. Do I look back? Do I wave? Do I flip him off?

Oh god. I just want to throw myself out the window. I'm going to scream. Or maybe cry.

Suddenly one billion and a half metric fucktons were lifted off of my back as his eyes slowly drifted away from me and back to Mr. Baker.

Holy fucking skittles was that intense. Well, maybe just for me. He probably wasn't even looking at me.

If that little display didn't give you enough insight on how exactly one-sided our relationship was, I don't rally know how else to demonstrate it.

_Shit._

_ Oh hell._

He must've been looking at Lucy.

Of course he was looking at Lucy, she's beautiful, oh god, I'm safe.

And maybe that wasn't such a good thing.

The remaining time in class was pretty much me weighing my chances of survival if I were to run away, just fucking _away _from Magnolia, away from Gray, away from my friends and to just be alone for the rest of my life.

There was no doubt that I would starve to death, but at this point, anything was better than whatever the hell _this_ was.

I walked out of class mechanically, my mind whirring with possibilities. I'm pretty sure Lucy tried to say something to me but I think I walked right past her, I don't know I feel so numb right now somebody could stab me and I'd walk to third period with a knife in my gut.

I have Calc. with Erza next, thank god. Some Erza time ought to do me some good, we can make fun of Elfman and Cobra.

I just need to relax, just think of relaxing things, kittens, streams, red velvet cupcakes…

I let a long breath out, my mind soothed and my body much less rigid. I walked to my locker to get my Calc. things, while waving goodbye to Levy as she walked past me to her French class.

"Hey, you're Juvia, right?"

I turned around to see who was addressing me, and I almost melted into a puddle.

That's fucking right.

Ha, I just realized that I totally forgot to mention the fact that I've never said a fucking word to him in my entire life.

I instantly felt my walls go up, there was no reason he should be talking to me. I didn't do anything different.

He smelled so fucking good. I have no idea what the scent is, but good god I just want to bury my face in his chest and inhale for hours on end.

"What's it to you?" I snapped, thanking every god that I had long hair that covered my very red ears.

Gray tilted his head in the slightest, his eyes evaluating every move I made.

"Well?" I asked, embarrassed that he would even look at me this long.

_This wasn't part of the fucking plan I was supposed to go to college and forget about him oh god I hope he says something before I explode…_

"Hm, have we…met…before?" He asked. If anybody else had said that, it would've been awkward, but with Gray, it seemed completely natural.

Fuck him.

I scowled. "No, now beat it."

He looked completely surprised by my harsh manner, and to be honest that would make two of us. I have no clue why I was being so bitchy to him, my only explanation was that I didn't want to fall in love with him any harder than I already have.

"Would you quit staring at me like a creep?" I asked rudely. Now I knew for sure that I was blushing, my cheeks were heated and I just wanted to rip my face off so that he couldn't see my blush.

_And while you're at it, could you possibly be a little bit less fucking attractive? Some of us are trying to breathe here._

"Wow, have you always been at this school?" He asked, as if he were bewildered by the fact that we had never crossed paths.

"Yeah, thanks for noticing." I said sarcastically, my locker now open as I gathered my Calc. stuff.

"Seriously? I can't believe I've never noticed you…" He trailed off as he seemed to be staring at my hair intensely. I had no idea whether that was extremely insulting or kind of adorable.

"Yeah, bye." I said in a clipped tone, twirling around and sauntering away.

_Haha, great. Now he'll never fucking talk to you again. Brilliant._

I'm probably the only girl to ever exist and actually _not _want to get to know her crush. I wanted nothing to do with my crush, I hope I never have to see him again.

God I'm a freak.

_…He's a thousand times more attractive up close._

I dropped my stuff on my desk violently and buried my face in my arms. Life sucks, Gray Fullbuster is an asshole.

I should make bumper stickers.

Erza bumped my shoulder testily, obviously sensing my sour mood.

"You alive Juvs?" She asked, placing her things down and sitting in her spot.

"Just barely," I breathed out, resting my cheek in my hand. Erza knew not to pry any farther, so we spent the rest of class in comfortable silence, taking valuable notes that I would never need to use again in life and listening to a teacher who had probably lost all hope in humanity.

When the class did end, I dragged the six pounds of homework that we had been graced with behind my back. Erza looked about ready to knock some heads (Namely Elfman and Cobra, who asked nonstop stupid questions the entire class, like 'why did humans invent math?'.

Normally I would've cheered her on, but right now I just needed to get to my next fucking class, avoid the fuck out of Gray, then go the fuck home.

The only problem in my otherwise perfect avoid Gray plan was that he was in my next class, which was an extra health course I took. I wanted to be a nurse when I grew up, and I already had a college scoped out and everything, this was just another notch on my belt.

In the health course, I just hung out with a sophomore named Wendy who wanted to be a doctor, and I had faith that she would be a doctor. That little chick could list off every artery from the heart to the fucking ankle.

She was a cute kid, and I enjoyed her company well enough, except for the fact that she was really timid and nervous, she was almost afraid to hang out with upperclassmen.

The _millisecond _I stepped into that godforsaken lecture hall, I felt Gray's eyes latch onto me. Sucking in a breath like I was going for a swim and not expecting to come back up, I raced up to take my seat next to little Wendy.

Wendy greeted me politely. I almost hated hanging out with her, I was kind of afraid that I was poisoning her, with my awful swearing habit and my deep hate for pretty much everyone…

Fuck it.

"Hey Wendy," I returned her greeting, a little more casually as I slammed my stuff onto the fold out desk rather boisterously.

Wendy jumped a bit from the sound, and I plopped down in my chair, prepping myself for an hour of info that I would actually pay attention to.

The lecture started off with the basic heart functions, and learning about bypasses and heart attacks and preventions. Basic stuff, but about halfway through the lecture I almost thought I heard someone whispering my name.

I whipped my head back, eyes narrowed as I searched for the culprit.

Of-fucking-course, Gray is looking at me with a puzzled expression, mouthing the words _'you're in this class?'._

I squinted my eyes and gave him one of those '_wtf stop talking to me_' glares that I was so (not)famous for.

He didn't seem fazed but I turned back around so that I could face the lecturer again, determined not to let Gray distract me again.

I almost succeeded, in fact there was only six minutes left of class when the lecture ended, but Gray was on a roll for pissing me off today, and right now was no exception.

"Juvia, you're in this class?" He asked, he had walked up to me and Wendy right as we were packing up.

"Uh, no. I came here for the comfy chairs." I said, smacking one of the comfy-as-rocks plastic chairs and fake smiled.

He smirked his stupid sexy smirk. "You're sassy." He commented with a raised eyebrow.

"And Wendy's got blue hair. Any more excellent observations?" I said, gesturing to a nervous Wendy's dark blue locks. I half expected him to say something dumb and cliché like 'you're not like other girls', for which I'd definitely have to punch him in the face for, but then again, this is no rom-com, and I'm no special girl.

He actually laughed this time, a nice handsome laugh. I'd most definitely be lying if I said I disliked his laugh, in fact I'd be lying if I said I disliked _anything _about Gray.

Except for maybe the fact that he wouldn't leave me alone.

The bell rung and I was about to run away, but Gray caught my arm and I felt shivers crawl up my spine.

"Catch you later Juvia," were his only words before he released me.

Yeah, only three months, my fucking ass.

It was going to be a hell of a lot longer than that, and as far as I can see, I'm completely, and utterly, screwed.

* * *

**Basically, I made an FF net for all my tumblr creations. Read at your own risk.**


	2. Detention for Dummies

"Juviaaaaa~"

I looked behind me and saw Levy zooming towards me with a thick notebook in her small hands. I braced myself for impact seconds before her itty-bitty body smacked into mine.

"Oh Ju-Ju, you'll never guess what happened to Lucy!" She squealed, skipping a few feet in front of me.

"Oh yeah? What happened?" I asked, my thoughts not wavering from the Gray-dilemma.

"She talked to Natsu! Oh my gosh, it was _so _cute!" Levy fangirled shamelessly, almost dropping her notebook in the process.

"Great." I said with less enthusiasm than I had intended. Levy didn't seem to mind, she continued without further ado and was pretty much dancing her way into Spanish.

I fucking hate Spanish. Like, not only is this fucking language difficult, with its fucking accent marks and weird squiggly marks, but it also has to make things fucking masculine and feminine, which I am _impressively _bad at.

It wasn't that the language wasn't beautiful, either. It's just that all the circumstances surrounding ti were awful ad it was near impossible for me to enjoy it when I was too busy trying to remember which ending which verb had in which tense.

Levy thinks it's 'exquisite' and 'a very fine language' and all that other language arts bullshit, but she's pulling linguistics out of her ass anyways so I let it slide that she thinks so highly of a language that is unnecessarily difficult.

It's honestly not fair that Levy can be so good at something so difficult. Well, she insists that it is nowhere close to difficult, but I think we all know that anything Levy does with ease is something I couldn't accomplish even if I spent my entire life devoted to it. This shit comes as naturally to Levy as breathing is to most people. I say most people because I myself am one of the few poor idiots who often forget to remember to breathe and sort of sit there half choking, half gasping like a fish out of water.

Just…fuck.

I also hate Spanish because our teacher is one giant-ass motherfucking bitch-faced hard-nosed…rat_. _And I mean every one of those_._ Mrs. Missvych (pronounced miss vich, but I think we all know what _I _call her behind her back…) is a very mean-looking parroty (don't as me how she looks like a parrot – she just does) It's like her main goal in her (probably) short life is to get me to make an absolute ass out of myself, from making me read with my not-so-Spanish accent, to calling me out in class when I _clearly _haven't the slightest fuck of a clue what the answer is.

Well I hope she dies of malaria.

Levy, of course, with her dumb glass half full, says that she is a very agreeable woman, and that I shouldn't take my frustrations about a language out on her. And maybe if I wasn't busy wishing all of Satan's hellfire to consume her slowly I would listen to her.

Just maybe.

"Buenos dias clase, sientense, sientense."

_"Good day class, sit down, sit down."_

I reluctantly followed Miss Bitch's orders, taking a seat in my crappy spot.

I'm squished in between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, a boy and a girl who couldn't tell the difference between a bed and a chair. The girl always had her hair in a high ponytail that was so tight it made her look like she was constantly straining her eyes to see. The boy had long greasy brown hair that covered his eyes like a sheepdog and always smelt like Mac n' Cheese.

Motherfuck me to hell's gate.

"Juvia, que hora es?"

_"Juvia, what time is it?"_

This is what she does. This stupid little basic question game just to fuck you up before class. And I hate how she pronounces my name, it sounds like _hoo-via_ like how fucking ugly does that sound. That should be the name of a cow. Or a brand of meat.

"Eh…es…uno y…"

_"It is one…"_

She motioned for me to continue. Damn, what was the word for thirty again? Can you believe that Spanish makes you do math just for the time?

"Media…?"

_"Thirty…?"_

Mrs. Missvych looked extremely disappointed that I had gotten it right. Ha-ha, fuck you old lady.

"Muy bueno Juvia," she said thinly, turning to the whiteboard and writing down the pages to be read for today.

_"Very good Juvia"_

"Gracias." I said sarcastically. That's right; I'm sarcastic in two languages.

Class, quite literally, drags on, and when I say drag I mean like dragging seven hundred pounds of granite across the fucking Sahara Desert.

At least I had English next.

This may sound like a total lie, but I actually _like _my English teacher this year. Mr. Hammond.

Haha, yeah I know, fucking witchcraft, but…

He's an interesting teacher, who knows how to get the point across. And that's all I really need.

I have Jellal, Erza, and Lisanna in that class, so this should be fun.

"Juvia? Come here please."

Dammit, dammit, **dammit**! I almost forgot I was actually technically still in class.

"Eh…un momento."

_"Eh…one moment."_

Silently preparing myself for battle, I stood up from my seat. Feeling everyone's eyes on the back of your head is hell, it's like everyone is silently singing Amazing Grace at my own funeral, all with their passing gazes.

"Miss Juvia, I would very much like you to see me after class." She seethed; just quiet enough so that the strained ears of my classmates would fail to understand.

_I…wait…holy fuck, she just used English! Now, I'm fucked, I'm fucked to hell and back!_

"Um…alright." I said, my mind whirring a mile a minute.

_Why the hell is she mad at me this time!? I got a B- on the last exam, that's definitely not a fail!_

She glared at me as I walked back to my awful seat, I couldn't see her, but I could just _tell._

Fuck you Miss bitch. Fuck you.

The bell rings and I barely registered it, but I did register the golden retriever looking kid practically shattering my shoulder as he propelled himself towards the exit.

Not that I blamed him, under normal circumstances, I would've done the same thing.

I slid my Spanish stuff into my blue gray back pack with speed that rivaled dripping syrup. I don't think I've ever been this un-excited.

"Juvia," her voice rings out loud and clear, jingling throughout the empty classroom.

"Hm?" I answered unintelligently. Considering she already thought I was a dumbass I might as well play the part.

"A few weeks ago, I received a _very _insulting e-mail from Mr. Hammond."

Huh.

Did I do that?

Eh, probably.

"Now knowing that Mr. Hammond is an _adult _and he would never pull something as simple and childish as this, even given our…history…"

Ha, he hates her almost as much as I do. English teachers, you gotta love 'em.

"I knew it must've been one of his students." She slammed own the stack of assignments she had been organizing and stood up, making the whole room shake, if I may add.

"It wasn't difficult to find out _who _was in his class at the time, and it was even easier to make an educated guess on who might've sent this."

_Ah, fuck._

"Do you have…anything…to say for yourself, Miss Lockser?"

_Yeah. Go take a flying fuck and call me when you die, that way I can organize the funeral that no one will come to._

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She smirked, like she had been waiting her entire life for me to say those words.

"Well that's alright, because I know exactly what I'm talking about. And you know what? So does Sherry."

_Mother fuck me to fucking fuck town on a tractor, god dammit!_

Sherry Blendy had to be the snitchiest, most conniving little bag of dicks I had ever met in my entire life. She pretty much thrived off of the pain of others, and I'm pretty sure she's actually a devil worshipper in disguise. Just my opinion, though. God, I could just rip her boobs off and give them to the basketball team for fucking charity!

My hatred for her may have also stemmed from the fact that she dated Gray Fullbuster for a short time sophomore year, but, who's really keeping track of who Gray dates anyway?

"O-oh really?" I said, my voice cracking a teensy bit as I ran my hands along the top of my bag.

"Yes really. And if you'd be so kind to show up for detention today, I'd be positively flattered."

_The only way you could be flattered is if you got run over by a truck. Ha! Get it? Flat? I'm funny most of the time…trust me._

"Well I'd love to do that!" I said with as much sarcasm as I could possibly bottle up into one sentence.

"Mm. Good, see you then." She said with a wave of her chubby hand.

_I can't fucking wait._

It took me exactly twelve seconds to book it down the hall from Spanish, and all the way to English without stopping to grab my stuff.

Mr. Hammond didn't even look up from his book, but he greeted me, knowing very well that the only one who would run into class would be me, running from Spanish like it was a wildfire.

"You're late." He observed without his sense of sight.

"Yeah. _Somebody _decided to kiss Miss bitch's ass." I said with a pointed glare at Sherry. She looked around, like she was completely innocent, but I'd kick her ass later.

"Oh yeah. The email." He says slowly, taking chaste sip out of his coffee mug.

"Yup." I confirmed, gliding over to my table which seated Erza, Jellal, me, and Lisanna, who was actually in her spot because for once in my life, I was more late than her.

How sad.

"Hah, she was so pissed. Thought she might pop, like a balloon," he said, happily envisioning her demise while shutting his book with a clack.

"Today, I don't really care. Do whatever you want, the assignments due tomorrow so waste your time as you please."

See, _this _is why I love Mr. Hammond. He leaves it up to you, it's _your _choice to do homework, _your _choice to study, and if you did well, you did well.

"I'm hungry." Erza moaned, right, I almost forgot I had lunch in a few minutes.

Mr. Hammond tossed us a box and Erza opened it, knowing quite well what was inside.

"Aw, only two?" Jellal asked, nudging the two donuts Mr. Hammond had snagged for us.

"Yeah, Miss bitch was on a roll today." He answered with a memorable chuckle.

I could feel the eyes of the whole class latched onto our table as they enviously watched us ration the donuts. Everyone in our class was pretty damn jealous that Mr. Hammond liked us best, but it was just because we were all pretty alike, and everyone else is significantly dumber than us.

I am the queen of modesty.

Lunch was uneventful for me. I never really talked during lunch, I just ate. Boring, but it's fun to watch Lucy attempt to gossip while eating a sandwich.

I couldn't believe it. The school day was finally _over._

Well, not technically. I have homeroom and study hall but I could leave if I wanted to.

But I never do.

Plus I have detention.

Fuck_._

Now, do you remember when I told you that I had _one _secret that I harbored from all my friends?

Right. I lied.

You see, on day one of high school on day one of homeroom, I met possibly my best friend in the entire universe.

…Gajeel Redfox.

And if you are ever so unlucky to meet this man your very first thought would be _why_

_The __**fuck **_

_Would an annoying bitchy chick_

_Hang out_

_With the fucking incarnation of Ghost Rider?_

And the answer is just and simple, I have no **fucking **clue.

The very first time I met Gajeel, I had gotten lost just trying to find my homeroom and I was so tired and sick of everybody's shit that I was not about to give up to some hunk of steel wearing a skin suit.

In fact, I had sassed him to the point of exasperation.

…Thus sparking the beginning of a beautiful, odd, dysfunctional, and fucking unexplainable friendship.

"Hey Jubes," He mumbles, stretching back in his desk that he had been sleeping in.

So Gajeel doesn't go to school.

Not really, anyways.

Gajeel's late mother was good friends with the principal of the school, and I suppose he felt o bad about her passing that he just sort of…let Gajeel slide by.

And if he were anybody else, I probably would've objected, but Gajeel is actually…smart.

Not exactly book smart, but he….understands. It's hard to explain, but if you met him, you'd know.

Please, pray you never have to meet him.

"Hey 'Jeel." I sniggered, our back and forth nick naming each a source of annoyance for both of us.

He rolled his eyes. "What have we got today?"

Basically, everyday I give him a run down of what I did the whole day. Sad, I know, that I have to vent to possibly the last person on earth who would care, but I think that he actually enjoys hearing me curse out every dumbass here and all the teachers I'd like to publicly shame.

"Uh…well…"

And so, for the remaining hour I told Gajeel everything that had happened today. And when I say everything, I mean _everything._

Ha, yeah, that's right. Even my little Gray run-in.

When I finally finished, my mouth dry from speaking so much, I laid my head down on my desk and stared.

"Huh. Can't believe what's-his-name finally spoke." He muttered, proving my point that he did indeed listen to me when I talked.

"I know. Can you kill him for me so I don't have to look at his perfect face anymore?" I asked weakly into the desk.

"You know I'd love to," he says with a good-natured knuckle crack.

"I just…I can't wait to get out of here." I said finally, wiping strands of ocean colored hair off of my cheeks.

"So I've heard." He added sarcastically.

There was only one minute left of school. One minute left meant that I would start a little tradition Gajeel and I had, a tradition that we had never once broken ever since that first dreary day of Freshmen year.

"Will you come to school tomorrow Gajeel?"

He looks up with an almost wishful look in his eyes. "We'll see Jubie. We'll see."

It's the same answer he's given me every day, the same answer I was expecting.

He had never once shown up.

The bell rung and I sighed, waving to Gajeel as he took off to the back lot, where he parked his motorcycle.

And now folks, it's time for my _least _favorite part of the day.

De-fucking-tention.

I've only been to detention a few times in my life, a few times for swearing, a couple times for bitching out idiots, and one time for actually punching someone in the face.

That's a story for another day.

The detention room is at the exact opposite corner from the exit, almost like they're waving the fact that _you can't escape _right in your fucking face.

Assholes.

The second I stepped in the room, I was instantly surprised by the amount of people that were actually there.

Natsu, (well, no one's really surprised about this one…) was sitting in the far left corner dangling a pencil in front of his eyes and attempting to make it wiggle.

Elfman and Evergreen were making out (viciously, if I may add…) a few seats in front of Natsu.

Cobra was flicking tiny paper balls at Elfman and Evergreen.

Two unfamiliar (probably football or lacrosse players) were playing paper football from opposing sides of the room.

Yukino (I think that's her name…?) was picking at her nails with a sharp sneer plastered across her Barbie doll face.

Bixlow was doodling on his desk.

Great.

It was pretty obvious that the detention supervisor for today, who I was assuming was Miss bitch, was a no show.

It was pretty much a detention free-for-all.

"Hey guys, I bet I can make this pencil disappear!" Natsu exclaimed, standing on top of his desk and waving the pencil around.

"Natsu, shaddup." Elfman said, apparently deciding to take a small breather from Evergreen's throat.

I slunk to the back of the room that wasn't occupied by a loser, careful not to draw to much attention to myself.

_Be extra careful, they can smell fear~_

I mentally prepared myself to sleep for the next hour, god knows I needed it.

But just before I could lay my weary head to rest (heheheh) the door to the detention room swung open and I almost choked to death on my own saliva.

"Hey, wow. Guess everyone's here today." Gray said with an unconscious flick of his dark hair. His eyes scanned the room to confirm his statement.

_Come on invisibility powers! I know you're there! Work, dammit!_

His bored expression almost instantaneously lit up as his eyes skirted across me.

_Please don't sit by me, I'm allergic to beauty._

He drew closer to me, like a moth to light, before stopping in front of me with a playful smirk.

"Well, well, well, looks like we got ourselves a newbie," he said, just soft enough so that no one else in the room heard his voice.

Thank god. It's not like I need anymore distractions.

Especially if the distractions are so beyond sexy you need to be far sighted to see how far it goes.

I only groaned under my breath. He laughed light heartedly and sat down beside me.

Just…_excellent_.

"What got you in here Juvia?" He asked, intrigued.

"I…sent an insulting e-mail to one of my teachers. Would've got away with it too, if it weren't for stupid Sherry…" I grumbled lowly, lifting my head off of my desk to look at him.

Definitely a bad choice.

_Alert! Alert, he is way too attractive to be sitting this close to me!_

"Really? I didn't peg you as the type of girl to do that…" He mused.

"I didn't peg you as the type of guy to hang out with idiots but…" I gestured around the room, heavily emphasizing Natsu who was sticking the point of his pencil dangerously close to his eye socket. "But here you are."

He laughed really loud this time, loud enough to draw some of his friends to look over and see what had Gray laughing his ass off.

"Yeah, they're pretty much fuckwads, aren't they?" He said after his laughter had died down.

"That's an understatement. Yesterday, Natsu tried to convince everyone that there was no other language besides English. And anything that wasn't English was fake and made up." I disdained, attempting to keep my voice as low as possible.

"Yeah…well, underneath all that idiocy and arrogance…he's an ok guy."

_I find that hard to believe._

I didn't answer him; I just kind of slowly sank back down to my desk with sleeping intentions.

"So…uh…you do sports?" He asked after a few minutes silence. It was weird, his voice was almost…panicky, like he didn't want me to stop talking to him.

It was kind of…cute…

"Hm…sorta." I answered, my voice a bit muffled by the sleeve I was resting on.

"…What do you mean 'sort of'?"

_Ah…shit. I don't want to explain this to him…great job Juvia. You've fucked yourself over for the eighth time today._

"I swim…but I don't compete."

"Really? I mean, Evergreen's on the swim team, if you want to compete I could just ask her-"

"No!" I interceded, just loud enough to grab the attention of Natsu.

"I mean…that's nice, but I don't really want…to compete." I covered lamely, drumming my fingers on my desk.

"Oh….why not?" He asked, clearly trying not to be too rude with his invasive question.

_Don't tell him. Don't tell him. Don't fucking tell him or you will be embarrassed for the rest of your gaddamn life._

"Hey Gray! Who are you talking to?!" Natsu screamed from across the room.

_Well now I'm solidly fucked. Thanks a bunch Natsu, I wonder how it would feel if I stuck that pencil in your trachea, it'd feel great, wouldn't it?_

"Ah…Juvia, she's in my physics class." He answered coolly.

Evergreen momentarily stopped giving Elfman a tonsillectomy and looked, no, _glared _over at me from a distance.

Fuck, I am so **fucked**.

"Hey, why's Evergreen giving you the death stare? Most people turn to stone after a look like that…" Gray asked quietly.

"We uh…we swim together." I said simply, looking away from Gray's beautiful face and towards the only window in the room, providing me with a glorious view of the pine tree forest.

"With that kind of look, I'd say you've beat her a couple times, am I right?" Gray noted.

Damn him. Damn him and his spatial thinking.

"Um…only a few times." I lied weakly.

"Evergreen's the best swimmer there is, if you've beat her once, than you should at least be _on _the varsity team," he reasoned carefully.

"I'd rather not…" I said, stealing another glance at Evergreen who seemed to be glaring at me while simultaneously getting her throat cleaned.

"Are you…afraid of competing, or something?" Gray asked tenderly, genuinely interested in my answer.

_I hate you, you perfect, perfect man._

"I just…freeze up on competition days." I lied thinly. It was a pretty believable lie, lots of people can't handle the stress of competing.

Just not me.

"Oh. You should still try out though, aren't the varsity tryouts in a few days?"

_Yes. I never miss them._

"I think so."

"Great. Just go and see how you do, and if you make it, you make it."

_It's not that fucking simple sugar cakes._

"Ok." I mumbled, looking up at the clock diligently.

Holy shit. I have been talking to Gray for nearly _forty five fucking minutes._

And there is only _fifteen minutes left._

Awesome.

"Do you like…hockey?" Gray asked nervously.

_Nervously? Why is he nervous? There is literally nothing to be nervous about!_

"Yeah. My dad watches it a lot." I said truthfully. My dad was a _major _hockey fan, and he knew exactly who Gray was. In fact, he thought Gray was _awesome._

Right. Gray is a hockey star.

Does he seriously think I don't already know this about him? I mean, sure he doesn't exactly assume that every girl he meets is a semi-stalker, but it's not really that big of a secret, it's kind of school-known.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, my brother is _obsessed._ I play a little bit though."

_A little bit?_

_A little fucking bit, Gray?_

_Is this his idea of modesty? Because it is extremely adorable and I kind of just want to hide him in my purse and keep him forever._

Well if we're going to play the modesty game, I'm in.

"Really? That's pretty cool, I've never seen a school hockey game before, what position do you play?"

"Uh…centre forward…" He said, almost confused by the fact that I didn't recognize him as the school's star hockey player.

"Nice. Maybe I'll catch a game sometime." I told him.

He smiled. "That'd be awesome."

_Am _I_…flirting with him? What the fuck Juvia! This isn't how it was supposed to go, you were supposed to admire his beauty from afar until college, then you can run away! It was a great plan, but you just had to go and fuck it up._

Thee door opened and interrupted my self-lamenting thoughts.

"Gray, hurry up, we have hockey in fifteen." The guy said impatiently, tapping his watch like it was his own funeral.

Gray looked extremely disappointed. "Yeah, yeah, gimme a fuckin' minute, ok?"

I wonder what made Gray so upset all of a sudden. He didn't really _seem _like the type to just belt out swear words willy nilly, _like me._

"Jesus, hurry up." The guy said, shaking his head like Gray was the most annoying thing to ever plague his life.

"Ah…I gotta go, there's a game this Friday…" He suggests awkwardly, hefting up his bag with surprising strength.

"Gray! Stop flirting and get your ass over here!" The guy yelled.

Gray instantly went red. "Shaddup Lyon!"

"Come on, coach'll give us extra pacers if you don't pick it up!" Lyon yelled, dragging Gray from the back of his shirt and out the door.

"Bye Juvia!" He yelled just as the door slammed shut.

_Fuck. I am so fucked, I'm an idiot, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!_

"Hi!"

"Gah!" I jumped back in surprise when I saw Natsu hovering inches from my face.

"I think Gray likes you." He said flatly, sitting down backwards at the desk in front of me.

"I just met him _today!_" I fired back, because it actually was true.

How pathetic.

"So? You like him too." He said bluntly.

"What? No I don't, I don't even know him!" I argued. Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Tch. Lying is a sin. Tell you what, I'll help you _hook dat up_ if you do my Government homework." He said , examining his knuckles like this was actually a deal that should be considered.

"No. Go away." I said, mustering all the bitchiness I could.

"You're friends with Lucy, right?" He asked, ignoring my previous statement.

"Yes. Fuck off." I spat. If I could do anything in my power to keep him away from Lucy, I'd do it. Even if it got me tossed in jail.

"Yikes. Bitchy much? Is she single?" He fired each question faster than the one before.

"Stay _away _from Lucy, or I'll kick your ass all the way to Hargeon and back. Then I'll stick you on a train and have you mailed to Pakistan."

For a second he looked like he might be sick, but it faded just as fast as it had appeared.

"Why? I think she's cute." He said simply, with a somewhat dopey smile.

"Of course she's cute! That's why you need to stay _away. _You'll ruin her." I countered.

He looked a bit hurt. I felt a little bit…bad…even. I felt like I had just kicked a puppy with a wing tip.

"I don't want to _ruin _her…" He said softly, rubbing his fingers guiltily on the back of his chair.

"Good. Because if you leave her alone, you won't." I said, a little bit less harsh than before.

"…Okay." He said, defeated.

_Shit._

No actually, _shit. _I feel awful, God he looks so broken…I…fuck_._

"I…ok, look. If you clean up your act, and at least maintain a solid B grade, then maybe…I'll look into it for you."

_God, I'm a fuckwad. Oh, I'm so dumb!_

"Really!?" He asked, shooting up from his desk with enough pep to kill a girl scout.

"Uh…yes. But stay away from her until then, or I'll get Erza."

Natsu shuddered and nodded, just as the clock sang out, telling everyone in the room that we were free.

_Free at last!_

Time sped up as I ran out of the school.

_Only three more months._

_Only three more months until I'm out of this hellhole._

_Only three more months until I can forget about Gray Fullbuster._


	3. Evergreen chokes

God, I _hate _the smell of chlorine. It literally feels like the chemistry lab living in your nostrils, it's disgusting.

No matter, I'd still shown up to swim tryouts. I had been on the swim team ever since freshmen year, but I never made the competitive team. And for good reason too, and not the sort of reason you probably have predicted.

_It's because you suck, Juvia!_

Actually, no. Not to brag, but I'm easily the fastest swimmer here. Years and years of dreading the pool and raw determination to conquer my paralyzing fear of water had drilled pure swimming instincts into my brain. I could move faster and more fluidly than our so called 'champion swimmer' could in her dreams.

_Evergreen._

Just thinking her name leaves an awful taste in my mouth, like after my dad cooked year old potatoes, claiming that the 'little green sprouts' made them taste better.

The dumbass dad of the year award goes to…

God, her big fat boobs are probably the reason she's so god damn slow. Too much damn weight.

Not that my boobs made it any easier for me, just…I knew how to keep them in my suit, not hanging out like two oversized bowling balls that never seemed to be fully clothed.

Don't get me wrong – I don't have an issue with girls showing some skin, but when you leave your boobs hanging out to the point where they physically slow you down while swimming, it becomes more of a team problem than a you problem.

Sure, Evergreen was fast, but not…_really _fast. I probably sound like a total condescending bitch right now, but _god _she just thought she was hot stuff and it kinda made me want to set her on fire. Then she really would be hot stuff.

I stretched my lean arms over my head, taking my time in observing the coach. Each year during tryouts, the varsity team members would be selected by time on each of the four main strokes. The top seven swimmers were taken, and I had a habit of 'slipping up' on try out days and not even making it to twelfth.

_Oops._

A few years back, when I first started swimming, I met Evergreen. Although she's a dumb bitch, she's also a smart bitch. If you know what I mean.

She probably saw that I was most definitely better than her, and she sort of…talked to me about it, and long story short, I tend to sort of on purpose flunk tryouts every year.

Double oops.

Dipping my feet into the pool slowly, I made sure to send Evergreen a nasty glare while her back was turned. She has a very manly back. Especially with her swimsuit on.

I slipped into the water silently, just as unnoticeable as I was in class. I really don't think anybody even knows I'm on the swim team, besides dumbnut Evergreen, anyways.

Ha. Dumbnut.

Even though my fear of water is still very evident, the pool just wasn't…real water.

Real water is churning, blackened depths that grab a hold of your legs and drag you down to the depths, where it will watch you slowly suffocate to death, and laugh. Not this chlorine-infested drinking water.

Yes, I feel very strongly on the whole anti-water debate that sort of takes place in my brain.

But I took off anyways, cutting through the water easily and listening to it gurgle past me, with the thin strands of my ponytail sticking to my exposed cheekbones.

I hated swim caps. Just thought I should throw that out there as well.

It's pretty evident that I'm hella faster than Evergreen, she knows it, her friends know it, and especially the coach knows it. You should see him every year, right after tryouts.

_"God dammit Juvia, what the hell was that garbage! A bloody outrage, you were like a fucking ballerina out there, taking your goddamn time. No, don't laugh at me! I should be stringing up what's left of you across the bloody auditorium, if that's what you call a butterfly!"_

He's literally like the Gordan Ramsey of high school swimming.

"Juvia! Get your ass out of the water!"

Just returning from my practice loop, I flew out of the water to see what the coach wanted. Probably prepping me for tryouts, with his '_don't bloody screw this up again Lockser'. _

"Yeh?" I said unintelligently, clumps of water still residing in my ears.

"Don't bloody screw this up again Lockser-"

Yup. Like I said, same old spiel.

"-and if you think for a goddamn bloody shit assed second that you slacking off is going to stop me from-"

Blah, blah, blah. Kicking my ass from here to the Thymes, yadda, yadda, yadda.

"Coach!"

And now it's time for, _gag me with a fucking laptop!_

"Coach, I shaved a whole second of my front! And also-"

"Can't you see I'm fuckin' busy Ever! We'll talk after tryouts!" He barked, making Evergreen huff in frustration and send me a withering glare and good lord I'm pretty sure she actually turned me to stone.

"-Got that missy?" He asked me, a pointed look on his sharpish face. Kinda reminded me of a vulture, in a way, I guess…

"Uh…yes coach." I clarified, saluting him and walking back to my lane.

Unfortunately, someone was waiting for me there.

"_Ahem. _Juvia, do you remember what we talked about?" Evergreen asked, tapping her foot on the slippery floor.

"Actually, we're not technically supposed to talk about fight club." I said, a warning in my mind that she totally wouldn't get my hilarious reference.

Aaand I was right. But her stupid face was enough to show that she didn't really get much of anything.

"Whatever. Just know that if you even _touch _the varsity squad, I will make it so you will never be able to show your face at school again."

_Wow, I'm so scared, Regina-fucking-George. What are you going to do, put my name in the burn book?_

"Gotcha." I said, pointing my fingers at her in recognition.

"Freak." She muttered before turning around to her boyfriend, and _surprise surprise _her entire little fucking posse.

Great. Just what I needed, to show off my non-existent sort of existent swimming skills to Gray, who was, by the way, still in his hockey clothes.

No boy can make sweatpants look good.

_Except him._

He looked at me. I looked away from him.

Wow, that is one nice banner. What a great banner. I am really enjoying looking at this nice, multi-colored banner, in fact, I might just-

I felt a small tap on the back of my shoulder, and I whirled around, successfully whipping pool water all over Gray's dark blue shirt from my ponytail.

"Euh…sorry." I apologized, grabbing my ponytail in shame. _You betrayed me!_

"S'ok. Hey, don't freeze up out there. I kind of want to see someone actually beat Evergreen." He said with a grin. And at that moment, I wanted to. I _really _wanted to.

But I couldn't.

"Eh…I'll try." I said, although I think even he could tell by my tone of voice that that was the opposite of the truth.

He frowned, and looked like he had something else to say, but the loudspeakers came on, telling us and bystanders that trials were about to start.

First up; front crawl. Easily my best stroke, could win in a heartbeat.

But…I wasn't going to.

The shot went off and I literally just swam through leisurely, like I was getting from pontoon to pontoon. I could hear coach tearing out his ears in frustration (because he had no hair) and slamming his clipboard against the wall, probably frightening all onlookers greatly.

"God, _dammit! _Lockser, your ass, is _mine _when this is over!" He screeched, drawing far too much attention than I would've hoped. But I do suppose last place was a bit dramatic, even for me.

His comment probably sounded like the pervert Olympics to anybody else, but to me, it simply meant _fuck you, you useless whore._

Next: backstroke. Easy. But, not so for me.

I picked it up a little bit, snagging 8th place out of ten girls, but still, you could fry an egg on my coach's head, if you were in the mood for some sunny-side up.

Breaststroke: my worst stroke. _You can probably guess why._

But Evergreen was just plain _awful _at breaststroke, those boulders pretty much dragged her to the bottom of the pool.

I got seventh, much to my horror. Again, seven spots on the varsity team, I didn't want _any _chance of being considered for a position.

So for the butterfly, the final stroke for trials, I got dead last. Just ensuring me and my friend's social safety folks.

When I hopped out of the pool, coach was a bout ready to tear my boobs off and glue them to his hummer because we have not made it to a state tournament in the last four years and somehow he believes that I'm the key to his winning drought, or whatever.

"Lockser! That was complete bullshit! Do I look like a dumb fucking wanker to you?! I bloody hope not, because losing on god damn purpose is not what I call 'not screwing this up'. If you think for one moment, that I-"

Beep. Tuned out. My eyes subtly traipsed over Gray's form, bustled around Evergreen who had secured her top swimmer's spot.

He seemed completely unfazed by her winning, in fact, it looked like he was looking for-

"Are you even bloody listening?! I _said_, I'm not taking no for an answer. This is your last year here, and I fucking _need-"_

Boop. Sorry coach, don't care.

Gray, on the other hand…

"Putting you on varsity whether you like it or not."

**_WHAT?!_**

I looked up at him, completely and utterly horrified.

"What? No, you can't do that! I didn't make it!" I protested, but he had already started walking away.

"Don't bloody care, practice is next Tuesday. Be there if you want to continue breathing for the near future."

Ah, thinly veiled threats, my favorite things from teachers.

Asshole.

Completely pissed off, and frankly, screwed so hard not even a mega ton drill bit could get me unstuck, I stormed off towards the locker room with murderous intention.

"What the hell was that."

I turned around to face an angry looking Gray, and I matched his facial expression.

"What do you mean?" I sniffed, like the events corresponding were completely natural.

"I mean you sucked. It was blatantly obvious you were trying to lose." He deadpanned.

"I told you already, I don't like competition." I flatlined, squeezing excess water out of my ponytail in preparation to enter the locker room.

"Bullshit." He called. Damn him. Damn his sexy attractive intuitiveness.

I scowled and took a step forward, getting directly into his face.

"What do you want from me, Gray?"

He folded his arms, retaliating to my forwardness. "I want the truth."

"_I want the truth. _Tough shit batman, that's for me to know." I said, imitating his voice horribly and turning around and storming back to the locker room.

He made me _so _angry. First of all, it wasn't fair for someone to be that attractive. Heh heh, fuck you buddy. Second of all, I literally met him three days ago and already he's stuck his damn nose so far into my business he might just have to get it surgically removed, and _third of all…_

"Yeah. I can't believe coach put her on varsity, she _sucks. _She literally got last, is he trying to make this team a joke?"

Well, looks like I was wrong to be under the assumption that everybody knew that I was better than Evergreen.

"_I know! _He's just pissed we didn't make it to state last year, and he's taking it out on us! It's bullshit."

I so desperately wanted to prove those two shallow puddles wrong, I wanted to win, to make it to state…but it wasn't worth it. Three months left, just three months of high school, I don't need it to be anymore hellish than it already is.

I just didn't quite know how I was going to handle this yet…

"**_You!_**"

Well, as if today couldn't get any shittier…

"You! What did I tell you!? You bitch! I'll make you pay for this!"

"I didn't do it! It was coach, if you have a problem, take it up with him!" Shit. The words flew out before I could swallow them up.

"Shut up! You're gonna regret this, so much. I'll screw up your social life so bad-"

"What social life?" God _damn it Juvia _just stop fucking talking for the love of god, please just stop talking!

"You just dissed yourself, and I hope you're prepared to suffer." She snapped. God, she is so fake. I don't even understand how this is happening.

"Ok." I mumbled. Honestly, these three months couldn't stretch on any longer.

I put on my after swimming clothes, or as my mom calls them, my 'hobo' clothes. Hey, if you were sopping wet and didn't feel like trying, you'd look pretty homeless too.

It consisted of light gray sweatpants with the words _Holy Angels _written up my right leg. The name of my college, in case you're wondering. I won't accept going to any other colleges, and I'm hoping to go to the nursing school on their campus. The partner piece to my outfit was an old red T-shirt with the word lifeguard on it.

Yup. I all I needed was an old tin can and I was fit to sit in front of 7-11 and do my thing.

I grabbed my drawstring swim bag and headed outside, texting my dad to come pick me up. He thought I sucked at swimming. Although he'd never said it, I knew he thought so.

If only he knew.

So my basic after swimming schedule was waiting an hour and a half for my dad to come because the 'game was on' or he was 'robbed by some teenagers'. I loved my dad, but he sure was a flake.

So typically I would pass the time by sitting on the curb and watching netflix off my laptop, but I didn't bring my lifeblood today so I got to sit on the curb and do my absolute favorite thing- _doing absolutely nothing!_

I trudged over to the curb, my ponytail still dripping on the sidewalk, and sometimes trailing down the back of my neck in a creeping cold unpleasantness.

I flopped down onto the sidewalk, dipping my chin into my hands as I watched each girl hop into their cars while whispering most likely unpleasant things about me into their friend's ears.

Damn. Guess Evergreen's curse was starting early.

Soon enough, I was completely alone. Sitting on the curb, like a loser, my hair partially frozen and my ass numb.

"Heya."

You really should've seen this one coming.

Gray sat next to me slowly and looked at me with an indiscernible look on his face.

"Hi." I said softly, tracing the fabric on my shirt. There was still paint on it from a volunteer project Levy made me do two summers ago.

"So…this might seem like weird timing, but you know how I said that there was a hockey game on Friday?" Gray asked, scratching the back of his head, a nervous habit he had. (don't look at me like that, I know things, ok?).

"Yuh." I said tiredly, not really sure where he was going with this.

"Can you like…go? Like watch me play? I mean, it's only fair, I saw you compete, so…"

Ohmygod. I'm actually going to cry, he literally sounds so _nervous _he's the cutest thing ever ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod…

"Uh, yeah…sure. I suppose I should see at least one before graduation…" I reasoned, wanting to see his reaction to my nonchalance.

"Oh, ok. Cool, I mean. I'm number thirteen. If you wanted to watch me." He stumbled through his sentences awkwardly. I wonder if he was like this with all girls.

"Gray? The hell are you doin'?"

Gray turned around with quite possibly the most annoyed expression I've ever seen. And I've seen Erza during calculus.

"Who the hell asked you?" He shot back, before turning back around and leaning forward into his hands like me.

"Get yer ass up. We're goin' to the rink." The same guy from detention said, walking up to us and glaring down at Gray from above.

"What? Why? I don't have practice." Gray answered, his head shaking.

"Doesn't matter. You suck, ya gotta get better." The guy said stubbornly. Gray scowled.

"Shaddup Lyon. I don't care." Gray mumbled, leaning down and dipping his head between his knees.

"You should go." I whispered unconsciously. He looked up at me curiously, and almost accusatory, like he was expecting me to be on his side.

"Why?" He asked, like a small child busted for taking extra cookies.

"Because, I don't want to watch a hockey game with you stinking it up." I said simply, not able to contain my grin.

Apparently, it was contagious. "Ha-ha,so funny, why don't you become a comedian when you grow up? You jut wait and see, maybe I'm the star player." He said, jumping up from the sidewalk with gusto. Lyon rolled his eyes and punched Gray in the back.

"C'mon, if you spend all your time trying to get laid you shouldn't have picked hockey, the NBA's where that sort of shit happens." Lyon added, pulling Gray's arm towards the desolate parking lot.

"Hey, uh, I'll see you at school, you know…tomorrow." Gray called back, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"Who was that chick?" I heard Lyon ask when he thought he was out of my hearing range.

"She's my friend." My face instantly caught fire like a loaf of white bread left in the oven for too long.

Dammit Gray, just…dammit.


	4. Fuck you Gajeel

I swear, I was only a _little _bit late.

Like, earlier than Lisanna, but later than Levy.

As in, six minutes to get to class.

And I was still in bed.

"Fuck!" I wailed, climbing out of bed and grabbing a pair of stretchy leggings (that even I had to admit, showed a little bit more of my ass than I was comfortable with) and a Holy Angels sweatshirt, while simultaneously brushing my tangled blue locks out with a plastic pink hairbrush.

Yup. Talented.

I rushed through my kitchen, grabbing miscellaneous food items and tossing them in my backpack.

"Dad! Drive me to school!" I screeched, running into him and smacking him with my bag.

"Your what hurts?" He mumbled incoherently as I ran into the car without waiting to hear his answer.

_Three minutes._

"I thought you already left." He said groggily, the keys dangling shakily in his hand. Normally, I would've driven myself, but it's 'house protocol' that only dad can drive the van, and my mom took the car for work.

What's this? A completely functional family with no tragedies or mishaps on _fanfiction?_

Haha, that's correct. The only fault in my family's stars is my dad's flakiness and my mom's ditzyness.

"Wow. Thanks dad." I said dryly.

Oh shit.

Do you ever get that awful feeling that you totally forgot something?

I glanced at my backpack, chock full o' rice krispy treats and pop tarts, and all of my other random school supply garbage.

Everything appears to be in order…

"Dammit!"

My dad turned over to glare at me.

"Don't you fucking swear Juvia. It's morally wrong." He grumbled, surging forward as the traffic light flashed green.

Not recognizing the irony in his statement, I completely ignored him and swore up a small hurricane of curses.

All because, in this fan-fucking-fabulous greatastic day, I had forgotten my shoes.

"I'm the dumbest person alive! Holy shit, dad, just drive into that ditch! Bad genes, bad genes!" I cried, opening my window in an exaggerated attempt to throw myself out the car window for my failures as a human being.

"Spaz. Get out. I hate you." My dad grunted. I smiled weakly, after all, I had just forgotten something of sole importance to my day.

Haha. Whoa. Pun unintended.

"The feeling's mutual old man." Were my final words as I slammed the car door shut, something in which I was very well aware was one of my dad's personal pet peeves.

_One minute._

Shit! I'm so screwed…

Hallways flew by and everything just seemed hazy. What do I even have first hour?

God, dementia at seventeen. Talk about shit luck.

Ah, right. Government. Or political science, or whatever the fuck they like to call it. Doesn't matter, it's all still stupid.

_Ring!_

So close…yet so far.

But government class wasn't too far, in fact, it was a few classes down. Erza's gonna be pissed. At least she won't be able to yell at me from across the room.

Just before entering, I took a quick gaze at myself. Hm…not too bad, I suppose, given the circumstances.

Ready…set…go!

I opened the door as humbly as I could, my eyes fixed upon…what the fuck?!

_What the __**fuck**__!_

Unintentionally, my eyes boggled out of their sockets and my body continued to move forward, but my legs did not.

…Prompting the upper half of my body to completely lose its balance and three seconds later I became one with the floor.

Because what the damn hell!?

And what an entrance made by me. Not only was I late, which was weird for me, but I also drew so much attention to myself that I think many students were realizing that I was indeed in this class.

No matter. Falling on my face in the most ungraceful entrance since Jennifer Lawrence was no reason to give up this early in the day.

Especially when I had a certain _someone _to interrogate.

I got up and dusted off my skin tight leggings, subconsciously reminding myself to pull my sweatshirt down so it modestly covered my see through ass pants.

My spot was in the back left corner, inconspicuous because honestly the teacher had much more impudent things to worry about. Namely Natsu.

As he laughed obnoxiously at my faults, I mentally murdered him and scooched into my spot.

And of course, turned to the side to chew the hell out of the guy next to me.

"Gajeel, what the **_hell_**?"

(haha, bet you thought it was Gray)

He tilted his head forward in a weirdly old person like greeting. "Jubilee."

Ah yes, the creep-assed nickname he had graced me with on the day we met. Of course, my naturally 'jubilated' spirit (this included swearing at him and condemning his soul to the depths of hell) earned me my pet name that never seemed to loose its catchiness over the years.

"That doesn't answer my question!" I whispered angrily. I don't even really remember my question, but that didn't settle my raging nerves.

What the fuck is he doing here? I mean, I know he said 'we'll see' but that doesn't mean we'll see, that means no! We've established this already, he literally just broke almost four year's tradition!

"There…wasn't really a question. But to answer your future question, I don't really know. Got bored, decided it'd be fun if I crept into your personal life." He said slyly, tapping his ratty pen against his desk rhythmically.

Oh no.

_Oh no._

Gajeel knows…everything.

Gajeel knows every single fiber detail of my life, from the way Lucy talked all the way down to…

Gray…

_I'm so fucking screwed. Is that window open? I might as well just chuck myself right out of it, because pretty much anything is better than this right now-_

"You look sick." He commented flatly.

"I'm sick of _you_." I spat, not in the mood for his usual bullshit at seven in the morning.

"Walked right into that one. Why aren't you wearing shoes?" He asked. I felt myself moan at my lack of footwear and slam my head against the desk.

"-and for this project I _will _be assigning groups."

_Dammit! The ultimate death sentence!_

Seeing how my only friend in this class was Erza(and now Gajeel…I guess) I was bound to end up in a group that was scraped off the floors of hell.

"Tch. You were right, school sucks." Gajeel said, leaning back on his chair and almost snapping it in half.

"Yeah. You should just leave now, and y'know…never come back." I suggested.

"Hey, you were the one who was so eager to get me here! 'Sides I'm already here, may as well stick out the last couple a months." He reasoned intelligently.

He may have had a point. A _small _one, at most.

"What even is the group project? I forgot to care." I mumbled, watching slowly as all the smart people got placed into groups that I wasn't in.

"We're doin' a mock debate, on a current political topic." Gajeel said, mocking Mr. Taylor's monotone voice.

"Ew. I only like arguing on my own terms." I said. Erza got picked for her group. _Dammit._

"You don't have to tell me twice." Gajeel muttered. He had been one to see the dark side of my caffeine-less days.

"Redfox, Dragneel, Lates, Lockser."

_Wait, what?_

"You lucked out Jube. You got me as a debate partner." Gajeel said with a wide grin, showing of his sharp canines.

"No, no, no, no…this is a very bad thing…" I squeaked as Natsu and Hibiwibi or whatever his name was came bounding over to us.

"Hey Juvia! This is great! I'll bring my grade right up, I already have a C+ in physics and a B- in Calc.!" Natsu exclaimed. Right, my kind of, sort of, deal with Natsu.

"Yeah, brilliant." I said as coldly as possible. This asshole wasn't coming anywhere near Lucy if I had anything to say about it.

"What topic should we do, if I don't get an A on this project I _will _slaughter each and every one of you." Hibiraki (?) said. This prompted all of us to look at him strangely. I was almost positive that this weirdy kid had never gotten an A in his entire life, but I let it slide because last year I'm pretty sure I saw him have a full on conversation with his shadow.

"Well on that note, let's go through topics." Natsu said awkwardly.

"What about…foreign policy, or like…one of those conflicts in the watchamacallits" I suggested blankly. I just wanted this assignment to be over.

"Eh yeah, or something environmental, that hippy-dippy shit." Gajeel said in a bored tone.

"Mm…what about that whole 'drilling in the Arctic' thing. Little bit of both I guess." I added.

"That sounds good." Natsu said happily.

"Uh…so over the weekend just like…research that whole topic. What side are you guys going to argue?" Gajeel said. Well I guess I had no say in the fact that Gajeel was going to be my debate partner. I wasn't that disappointed, actually. I could count on Gajeel to argue, I might just be able to pull out a B.

"Let's do…the good side. Let's drill the hell out of what hunk of ice, Hibiki!" Natsu yelled. Hibiki (so that's his name…) looked absolutely horrified.

"What?! Good Lord no! Think of the environment! Oh for heaven's sake, this is unacceptable! I will not allow myself to have such an incompetent and imbecilic partner! I demand a switch!"

Gajeel and I both shared 'are you fucking kidding me' looks, and said "fuck no" at the exact same time.

"Hahaha…wait, what did he say?" Natsu asked cluelessly. Yikes, this is going to be a lot easier than I thought.

"I heard Gray asked you to the hockey game tonight."

Dammit! How the hell do people keep hearing about this stuff?

"Well…technically, yes, he asked me to come _watch _him." I corrected.

"So…are you gonna go?" Natsu interrogated. God, he's such a fangirl, I'm gonna mistake him for Lucy one day…

"Maybe." I said.

Yeah, I was definitely going.

"So you do like him?" Natsu asked.

"Where the hell'd ya get that idea?" I snapped, glaring at Gajeel subtly so that he'd keep his trap shut.

"Well you said maybe." Natsu said slowly, like he didn't exactly understand how he came to that conclusion either.

"Anybody who told you to be yourself couldn't have given you worse advice." I said sadly.

Natsu looked at me blankly and I couldn't help but pity him.

I took a glance at Erza from across the room, only to see that she had been trying to get my attention for a while now. She was viciously pointing to Gajeel and then making a shoulder shrugging motion.

_Ah, she wants to know how I know him…_

"Hey Juvia, you…you're not wearing any shoes." I heard Natsu say behind me.

"Well fuck me over sideways and dick toss that shit to hell's gate, you're right." I said as calmly as possible, looking down at my sock covered feet like it was just a small inconvenience in my day.

"Did…did you seriously not know that you're not wearing shoes?" Hibiki asked. God damn, these guys were as dumb as investing all your money into fucking Blockbuster.

"Shut up, you foolish fool." I said, dropping my sarcastic innuendo and walking over to Erza's group because god knows I need a dose of sanity in my life right now.

"What the hell is that?" Erza asked me the second I arrived.

"What the hell is what?" I retorted, unsure of her confusion.

"_That._" She reiterated, pointing to Gajeel, who was currently arguing with Natsu and what's his name.

"Ah. You mean Gajeel." I said, not really sure how to answer her question.

"Mhmm. How the hell does he know you?" Erza asked. I forgot how scary she could be sometimes…

"Uh, he's in my homeroom." I said, hoping with all my heart that she'd drop it.

"How come he just showed up here for no reason? Is he even _in _this class?" Erza continued, to my dismay.

"Yes, he's in this class, he just…decided to show up today?" I squeaked, sounding so unsure of myself I knew Erza could see directly through me.

"How does that even work? Shouldn't he be a Junior if he never showed up? Shouldn't-"

_Bring!_

"Whoops, sorry, gotta go! Bye Erza!" I said hurriedly, grabbing my bag and rushing out of the room with remarkable speed.

_Hahaha! Successful escape! Physics!…not yay…_

"HEY JUVIA!"

_HOLY SHIT MY NIGHTMARES ARE REAL_

Levy jumped on my back and Lucy grabbed onto my arm, making it extremely hard to stay upright.

"What the hell guys! Get off!" I shook Lucy off of my arm and peeled a giggling Levy off of my back.

"So guess what? Yesterday Natsu asked Lucy if she wanted to be partners in French! It was so exciting!" Levy gushed, twirling some of her sky blue hair into a tiny knot.

"You're exaggerating Lev, he was just trying to be nice…" Lucy countered, but I could tell by the faint blush painted on the apples of her cheeks that Levy was completely right about Lucy liking him.

_God fucking dammit._

"Oh, that's…" _Great, fine, good, interesting, fabulous, cool_-"…nice."

Levy and Lucy continuously giggled about whatever the hell they were giggling about until we got to the classroom.

I nearly had a stroke and a half when I saw Gray waiting for me at my desk.

Holy chocolate cupcakes does he look attractive.

I am most definitely having chest pains. Good Lord, why the hell is he wearing a hoodie? Why is it _tight? _Why does he have to wear jeans oh bloody hell…

"Ah, Juvia…looks like somebody's waiting for you…" Levy prodded, looking at Gray from a distance and whispering something in Lucy's ear, causing her to giggle.

_God._

"Gr_ay _what are you doing…here." I said, emphasizing 'here' as my desk.

"Gonna ask you if you were comin'," he said with a stunning grin. Why the hell can't I smile like that?

I unconsciously tugged my sweatshirt down, it seemed to have ridden up generously, exposing my stupid ass covered by my stupid leggings. Thank God Gray didn't see, or I might as well have just thrown myself out the goddamn window.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I can make it…" I said, dropping my bag next to my desk Gray jumped off of it.

"Cool. It's the last game of trials, if we win, we go to state." Gray said, trying to be modest but I could tell he was really excited.

"Mm. What time is it anyway?" I asked. I knew the game was at seven, but I just wanted an excuse to talk to Gray.

"Seven, but you should show up at six thirty. It's gonna be full." He lectured.

"What makes you so sure?" I asked with one raised eyebrow. I liked to think that Gray was modest, but maybe not so much.

"Because I'll be playing." He said smartly. I pretended to laugh, like it was the funniest thing I'd heard in years.

"_Hilarious. _But they don't let girls play on the boy's hockey team." I teased lamely.

"Awe, that was lame and you know it Juvia." He said, laughing good naturedly.

I had to admit, he was really growing on me.

But then again, so does cancer.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Levy and Lucy gossiping about my _scandalous _secret relationship with Gray. I swear, if one word comes out of either of their little mouths, I'm gonna-

"Please take your seats class, I have very important news!"

_Oh no. This is gonna be bad._

Gray looked excited, and went back to sit in his seat. How the hell is it even possible for someone to be excited for _physics_?

Wait a second, is that _Gajeel _sitting next to him? How the hell-

"We're going to be doing a group project!"

_God Dammit!_

What the hell? Is it _every _teacher's fucking goal to piss me off?

"We will be working on this project for several weeks and it is a large portion of your final grade."

_God damn you Mr. Baker I hope you and your disgusting fingernails-on-a-chalkboard voice go jump off a fucking bridge and get hit by a helicopter._

"_I will be assigning the groups._"

Well, there goes my last fucking chance of survival. I could've gotten a group with Levy but now I'm so screwed if I get a D I'll be excited.

He started to list off names and once again, every. Fucking. Smart. Person. Got. Taken. _Dammit._

Even fucking Gajeel lucked out and got Levy, asshole. I'd actually commit mass murder for his spot right now.

"Strauss, Drake, Fullbuster, Lockser."

Thank God. At least I _knew _Lisanna. She may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but at least I could tolerate her more than-

Wait a second, _what_?

Fullbuster!?

Ha, ha, ha…very funny _life. _I know you like screwing with me, but this is just bullshit.

"Juviaaaaa! Yay! We got in the same group! What do you think of the other members? Who do you think got the worst group? I'm so excited, what place should we do the experiment?" Lisanna fired question after question. I literally had no answer for any of them.

Gray walked over to my desk, where Lisanna had sort of gathered. Flashing me an irresistible smile, he pulled up a chair and sat down next to me.

Melting…_I'm melting…_

"Hey, who's the other member of the group?" Lisanna chirped. How many pixy stix did she even _have _this morning?

"Cobra." Gray said.

_Shit._

Cobra is kind of like that one asshole, that _one asshole _that I just can't fucking stand because he's such an _asshole _like you just look at him and he has an _asshole _smile, and an _asshole _face just…

Kill me.

At least he decided to ditch today, I don't think I could take a day full of stupid Cobra and stupid no shoes…

"So what's this experiment again?" I asked, realizing that my trend of not caring today was going off the charts.

"We're testing solar intensity of certain areas. So, where do you guys want to do the actual testing?" Gray asked. Right, almost forgot he actually had intelligence.

"What about my backyard? There's grass there!" Lisanna pointed out.

"Same, no way!" I said, accidentally letting my sarcastic mouth off of its leash.

Gray stifled a laugh and Lisanna looked genuinely surprised.

"D'ya know what's weird, I've known you for like three years, but I've never actually seen your backyard." Lisanna said in all seriousness.

Right. I have this weird phobia of inviting people over to my house. Can't really explain it, it just freaks me out that someone who doesn't live in my house would like…be there.

"Mm. Yeah. My house kinda sucks anyway." I covered lamely. Lisanna shrugged and went back to brainstorming.

"What about the hills? There'll be tons of sunlight there." Gray suggested.

The hills was a park that was a little less than a mile from the school, a popular camping getaway, absolutely beautiful with streams and hiking and waterfalls and shit. It was actually a pretty good idea.

"That's…actually a good idea." I voiced, sounding a lot more surprised than I had intended.

"Thanks for that stellar vote of confidence, Juvia." Gray said wryly, and I shot him a playful glare.

Dammit, his stupid flirting is contagious.

"Whoa, wait…do you guys, like…know each other?" Lisanna asked suspiciously, taking note of our obvious closeness to one another.

Gray said 'yes' at the same time I said 'no'.

"Ouch Juvia, I thought we were friends." Gray said with false hurt, clutching his heart like I had stabbed it.

"I'm totally missing something. What is this?" Lisanna asked, with 'this' gesturing to Gray and I acting like idiots.

"It's mutual friendship Miss Strauss." Gray lectured. Honestly, he was such a dork sometimes.

What a cutie.

"Huh? How long have you guys even been friends?" Lisanna interrogated, still completely baffled by our seemingly tight bond.

"Like a day." I said flatly.

"Like _three _days." Gray corrected.

"Three days?" Lisanna repeated in disbelief.

"Yup. So, the hills? This weekend?" I confirmed, glancing to see that there were only a few minutes remaining of class.

"Sure. _Anything _to get out of practice." Gray said with a grimace, probably remembering that asshole guy Lyon who made it his personal goal to interrupt any time that I spent with Gray.

"Cool. Tell Cobra too, you're friends with him, right?" Lisanna asked. Gray nodded and Lisanna went back to grab her things for the next class.

"How the hell can you be friends with that guy?" I heard myself ask, a bit rudely.

"Eh…it ain't too hard, if you look past his…dickish demeanor." He explained.

"Right," I said, standing up and dusting off my leggings before I grabbed my bag in preparation to get the hell out of physics.

"Hey, whoa. No shoes today? Is this normal, or something?" Gray asked, with an amused smile. Haha, glad I amused you oh great one.

"Fuck you, don't judge me. I am running on three hours of sleep and my pure hatred of the universe." I established, kicking my feet up and trailing towards the door in anticipation.

"Hey, don't get sassy. And if it means anything to you, it's too bad you didn't forget something different." He said suggestively, winking at me just as the bell rang.

_Holy mother of god._

As people brushed past me I looked down quickly to where Gray had been previously standing, only to see the most awful sight anybody could ever imagine on hell and earth.

My sweatshirt, which must've hitched up when I got out of my chair, had hiked up a little bit up to my lower back and to my utter horror my ass was practically hanging out and my underwear lines were bright and vibrant, like the happy little goddamn asshole _bitch cunt fuck faced _underwear lines that they were! Fuck me, fuck me twice into a different continent where it's illegal to swear god _dammit_!

_And if it means anything to you, it's too bad you didn't forget something different._

Was he referring to…my _fucking underwear…_

I wanted to scream. And cry. And murder six people. And eat an entire tray of chocolate chip cookies.

Who knew perfect Gray with perfect hair and a perfect personality and probably a perfect GPA had a pervy side and he took it out on me, probably the only girl in the entire world who would physically _die _just from looking into his eyes.

_K.O._

Ah…I don't think I can go on…

Erza was waiting for me expectantly in front of Calc., probably still worried about me from first hour.

Luckily, I doubted Gajeel was smart enough to make it into calculus, so I was most likely safe.

"Hey." She said, tilting her head to the side so that her long red hair fell off her shoulders gracefully.

_Dammit. _Why can't I have Erza's pretty hair?  
"Hey. Did you do the homework, because I-"

"Didn't. I'll do it tonight after gymnastics." Erza said. It was nice to have someone who was almost identical to yourself. Her insane dedication to gymnastic was probably the only thing that truly set us apart, my passion for swimming was strong, but it can't even be compared to Erza and her vault routine.

"Which will be, what…eleven o'clock?" I asked teasingly. She rolled her eyes and pushed open the door to Calc, seemingly sealing us into a time resistant environment where time literally passed by so slowly I could fly to Europe, compete on the Tour De France, lose, cry, spend six months in rehab trying to recover from severe depression, and then come back just in time to get the assignment.

_Great._

"Hey, so…that guy, in policy? You guys are like…good friends?" Erza asked confusedly.

Right, back to this.

"Eh…sorta." I mumbled as we took our seats.

Math is generally pretty easy for me, I mean, calculus is damn hard, but like, after a day or two, I get the hang of it pretty quickly.

That still doesn't stop the time from pulling its own weight for forty eight fucking minutes, good lord did that class kill me.

When the class finally finished up, I stumbled out like a blind drunk man.

Because math is like someone impaling you in the eye sockets with rusty nails.

I swiftly avoided Erza, for reasons unknown, I guess. I just really didn't want to explain my relationship to Gajeel to her.

Of course. My extra health course next, with Wendy, and Gray.

Hopefully he'd keep his distance; I really can't afford any more nosebleeds from his intense attractiveness.

It was like he actually radiated beauty; maybe someday he'll just spontaneously combust and kill everyone on earth in the process from his godly fucking looks.

I hate myself.

Ew…the lecture room smelt like formaldehyde…

Oh no…

_Please _no…

Ah shit.

Just as I had suspected, lined up across the front table of the extended room was a bunch of sealed up plastic baggies with gruesome looking bundles of flesh inside.

This day literally could not get any more fantastic.

"Hey Juvia," Wendy greeted timidly. She's really short. She barely came up to my shoulder. She seemed a lot taller in those scoliosis-bound chairs.

"_Please _tell me we're not-"

"Dissecting cats. I know, it's awful." Wendy said, her bottom lip just barely trembling.

"Wait, a _cat_? Isn't that like, illegal?" I asked, horrified because Lucy had a kitten named peanut and honestly at that time poor peanut laying on an examination table was all I could think about.

"They're donated from the humane society. If they don't get adopted, then…" She trailed off, implying that the cats' untimely demise had something to do with the fact that nobody could take care of them.

"That's so sad," I said, my voice cracking in both sadness and disgust, because the cats were all shaved and…deflated.

This is what I get for diving ass-first into the medical field.

"What do you think Juvia?" Gray asked from behind me, scaring me half to death because nobody in their right mind stands directly behind someone while they are clearly in the middle of a cat-dissecting life crisis.

"Jesus, Gray." I breathed out, scrunching up my sweatshirt in the area where my heart had been electrocuted.

"You look sick. You a cat person then?" He inferred, my face probably paler than the moon. (which really wasn't that big of an accomplishment, I was already white as shit.)

I tugged my sweatshirt down, not wanting an instant replay of 'Gray is secretly a peeper' and my brain hemorrhage just from the _thought _of that being true.

"Well, yeah. I mean, nobody wants to poke a dead cat." I said, swallowing down my stomach that had decided to take a left turn at the esophagus and just kind of get the hell outta dodge.

"That's arguable. But yeah, it ain't gonna be pleasant, that's for sure." Gray said, his nose wrinkled just barely, so that he looked like a kitten in the cold.

It literally took every ounce of my strength not to scream and pinch his adorable cheeks.

"Mhm. I want to be a nurse, not a veterinarian." I said. Oops, didn't mean to let that slip.

"You want to be a nurse?" He asked, genuinely surprised. I guess I just don't come off as the kind of person who would comfort dying people.

"Well, a pediatric nurse." I corrected. Dammit, _dammit, _stop telling him shit about yourself Juvia! You idiot!

"You? With kids?" He asked, even more shocked than before. Wow. Wait to conceal that disbelief buddy.

"Yeah. You got a problem?" I defended, a little bit sick of people judging me. Just because I was a bitch to everyone didn't mean I'd be bitchy to kids.

"No, no. Good for you." He said, his face still twisted into a sort of wonderfully odd incredulous mixture, I swear, it was impossible to read him.

"…What about you? Did you just take this course for college creds?" I asked. I was taking this class for both reasons, experience so that I could get into the Holy Angels nursing school I liked, and in smaller colleges like Holy Angels, they actually accepted extra classes like this one for credit.

"Uh…it's complicated." He said, stressing that this was not a topic he usually talked about.

"Complicated how?" I pried. Leave it to me to step my naked foot where it's not wanted.

His face contorted into a calculating face; he definitely wasn't sure if he wanted to tell me or not. I tried my best to look open about it; he tried his best not to judge me so it was only fair that I returned the favor.

"Well…my family really wants me to go to the U. It's great and all…but I really don't think it's for me." He said slowly.

I processed the information just as slowly as he fed it to me. I was lucky enough that my parents were thrilled with my choice, Holy Angels having great credentials and such. Of course, in comparison to MagnoliaUniversity it flickered, but that was also because the campus itself was three times as big. Not to mention its sports programs were stellar, its classes in general were top notch, and it just kept getting harder and harder to get into.

There was no doubt in my mind that Gray had been offered some form of a scholarship there, for his hockey leanings. But having a family who pressured you into doing what _they _thought was best for you had to be hell, especially if you were positive that it wasn't what you wanted to do with yourself.

"I'm…sorry. That's gotta be hard, but just make sure you stand for something." I said, somewhat philosophically.

"Stand for something?" He asked, unsure of my wording.

"Yeah. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." I said simply as the professor ordered us to take our seats. I split away from Gray expeditiously, not waiting for his reaction to my statement, but I could tell by the way he lingered there for a few seconds that it had stuck to his mind.

I had only been sitting while listening to directions for a few minutes when I felt it. You know, that ominous feeling that someone's watching you?

I flipped my hair back curtly, providing me a short, quick look behind me.

I guess what I'd said had made an impact on Gray, because he had been staring holes through my back.

And there was no way I could ignore the inconsistent beat of my heart at the thought that _maybe, _just _maybe _Gray liked me a teensy bit. A 0.00001% chance, but a chance, nonetheless.

Oh, what do I know? Maybe his compass points the other way, but until I found out, my life was most certainly going to be a billion times more hellish than I could've ever imagined.

It was a joke to think that I only had three months left. Gray Fullbuster was going to make those final three months seem more like a lifetime.

* * *

**fun fact: this doc is called heads or dead cats in my doc manager**


	5. Tampons & Pepsi

God, fucking, _dammit._

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaad!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat do you want." He answered, poking his head out of the kitchen to answer my call.

"You said you were gonna drive me!" I complained, bouncing up and down like an annoying five year old.

I was completely ready for the hockey game, I had all my shit together.

My dad…not so much.

"What? When?" He asked, his eyes firmly glued to the hockey game on TV.

"Like an hour ago! Dad, come _on_!" I yanked his arm up as he drank his Pepsi absently, like I hadn't even said anything.

"Where are we going again?" He asked, slowly standing up and swiping the crumbs off of his shirt.

"The hockey game, dad." I reminded hotly, ready to slam him on the face with my purse and laugh as he suffered.

"You're going to a hockey game?" He asked, suddenly perky like I'd just injected him with caffeine.

"Yes, now let's goooo!" I whined, pulling his arm to the garage door.

"Since when do you like hockey?" He asked lamely, opening the car door as I threw myself inside, mentally fluffing my scarf and throwing my ten thousand pound purse on the car floor.

"Why do I have to drive you everywhere? You aren't crippled." My Dad mumbled, pulling the car out of the garage and onto the driveway.

"Be-cause, it's getting cold out and I hate driving on ice." I refuted, chipping the ugly nail polish off of my fingers. I had such horrible taste in everything.

"Lazy ass. So hockey, when did you become interested?" He mused, for once genuinely interested in shit I did.

"Uh, some friends are going and I got invited." I mentioned, definitely not wanting to make a left turn into Fullbuster Boulevard. I'm pretty sure my dad knew everything about him, like how Lucy knew Harry Styles's weight and height.

"What friends?" He asked, comically slapping his knee and laughing.

"Nobody likes you dad." I said dryly.

"Well obviously somebody did, or I wouldn't have a snarky wiseass brat like you." He said logically, running a yellow light that was suspiciously red.

"Nice. Blame the kid."

"Ok, now remember, we're the _blue _team, it would be a disgrace to have a child of mine rooting for the wrong team." My dad chided like I was some sort of imbecile.

"Dad, I _know. _I'm not a fucking moron." I whined, noticing the high school drawing ever closer.

"Don't talk to me like that, I've seen your Political Science grades." He said with a chuckle. Stupid old man.

"Well I've seen your dirty magazines, so you better clamp it or I'll have a hayday on the Playboy black market." I sang.

"Watch it, I can put you up for adoption like that!" He snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Yeah, yeah, ok dad." I snipped, opening the car door eagerly.

"Hey, get your ass back home by ten or I'll fry it on the stove." He warned, pointing his finger at me suspiciously.

"Aren't you driving me?" I asked incredulously, pausing before exiting the car because this sort of threw a wrench in my plans.

"Uh…maybe. If I'm awake, then yes."

I only sighed outwardly. Then I popped out of the car and began the trek to the school doors.

"Don't have sex, or mistakes like you will happen!" He called.

"Trust me dad, nobody wants to have sex with me!" I called back.

"Seriously though, if you're hanging out with boys I'll murder you!"

"Will do!"

"Why did I ever have a child," was his last sentence before speeding away.

Aha, you see where my asshole-ishness comes from? It's all in the genes.

I hauled my fifty ton purse into the high school, which was packed. Damn it dad, I had arrived at six fifty two instead of the suggested six thirty and now I was more than likely to be solidly fucked.

But then again, Lucy and Levy came early and they promised to save me a seat so I might still be in luck.

It was cold as death outside, the wind a constant reminder that winter was coming and that I'd better start getting heavier coats because winter is a total bitch in Magnolia.

Finally, I made it inside, and to my utter disappointment, it was still extremely cold inside.

_Well what did you fucking expect, it's a hockey game for fuck's sake._

I brushed off the rudeness of my mind and attempted to locate a ticket stand where I could buy a game ticket. Yeah, that's right, they make you fucking pay for this garbage. What a load of crap, I can watch hockey for free on my TV.

…Yikes, I'm sounding more and more like my father every day.

I followed the crowd to a ticket stand, sending a text to Lucy that I had made it and where I should look for the seats.

Just then, a group of hockey players walked past from behind the ticket stand, all testosterone and adrenaline as they seemingly made their way towards the vending machines.

Ah, thank fuck it was my turn to buy a damn ticket. If the chick in front of me said the word like one more fucking time I'd probably have to serve time for manslaughter.

I rummaged through my purse in order to find my wallet, which was somewhere in the mess of lip gloss and whatever other garbage I had sent into hibernation. Fucking where's Waldo is easier than this, god fucking damn…

"I _told _you to come at six thirty."

You've gotta be kidding me.

"Hold this," I said abruptly, tossing Gray my purse as I rifled through my wallet to grab the five dollars they required.

"_Shit _what the hell did you pack in here? Your entire life?" He asked, balancing a packet of skittles (which he had most likely gotten from the vending machine) and my purse while fully decked out in his hockey shit and skates.

I gotta admit, that takes talent.

After paying for my ticket, I walked past him and closed my wallet, slightly forgetting that he was still holding all my trash.

"Whoa, you're a smuggler?"

_Shit._

I whipped around and yanked my purse away from him, hoping that the ticket stand people didn't hear him.

"Shut the hell up, do you want me to get caught?" I whispered lowly, peeking in my purse to make sure everything was still intact.

Good. Everything was clear.

Gray _tsked. _"Shoulda known you were on the black market Juvia, I _might _just have to turn you in."

"It's just fucking Pepsi you asshole."

Right. I had been assigned with drinks for the game. Sort of a tradition my friends and I had, we were each assigned to bring something in so that we wouldn't have to pay for expensive in house food. Usually we did this for movie theaters (because fuck you if you think I'm going to spend eighty dollars on a bag of popcorn) but today worked too.

"I don't know, I think this is going to require some commission."

"Fuck you."

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you, but here are my demands. First, I want one of those Pepsis. Second, I need 50,000 dollars, _in cash, _delivered-"

I smacked my hand over his mouth. "How 'bout instead, you shut your trap and I won't damage your face. Sound like a fair deal?"

"I still want a Pepsi."

Begrudgingly, I reached into my purse and handed him one.

"Sweet. Remember," he turned around and jammed his thumbs to the number on his back that read _13\. _"-I'm number thirteen." He walked (well, more like wobbled, it wasn't exactly easy for him to walk in skates) out to the arena.

_Idiot._

I walked over to the seating entrance, after receiving Lucy's text that said '_all the way to the left' _and went, well, left.

It didn't take long for me to spot them, Lisanna's icy hair, paired with Lucy's golden hair, and followed by Levy's sky hair was not something one misses. But the thing that really screwed me up was-

"-Gajeel?"

He looked up from his bag of pretzels, looking like he belonged there. "Hey Jubie."

"The fuck are you doing here?" I asked, shoving him to the side so that I could sit down.

"I invited him!" Levy objected, poking her little head to the side so I could see her around Gajeel. "I brought pretzels!"

I reached into my purse and surreptitiously handed out the bottles of Pepsi, still planning on interrogating Gajeel further.

"And I brought Starbursts, Lis brought chips." Lucy butted in, throwing a couple starbursts at me along with a bag of potato chips.

"Er…thanks, but why did you guys invite Gajeel?" I said, saying 'Gajeel' like he was some sort of sexually transmitted disease.

"Don't be rude Juvia! He's nice." Levy defended. Psh, that's easy for her to say, _everybody _was nice to Levy.

"He's a shitfalcon of a human being." I argued back.

"Love you too." He said in between a sip of Pepsi.

"Just give him a chance Juvia, you don't even know him." Levy drawled.

That's what she _thinks._

I turned to Gajeel. "Just letting you know in advance, if you touch any of them I will fuck up your crotch so that it looks like a person who jumped off the EmpireStateBuilding."

"Aye aye," he croaked, weakly saluting me and looking back on the ice, watching the players practice lazily.

"Oh my god, you guys will _never _guess what Erza texted me a yesterday! She said she saw Juvia talking to _Natsu! _Lucy, she can hook you guys up!" Lisanna said exuberantly, while Lucy blushed.

_Wait, what?_

"It was nothing, he's just in a group project with us." I gestured to Gajeel for 'us' and prayed that they would all just drop it.

"You know, that's really weird, lately Juvia has been talking to a _lot of different guys_…" Lisanna hinted, moving her silvery eyebrows up and down and I resisted the urge to shove the bag of pretzels down her throat.

"That's just cuz she's a prostitute-_ouch!_" I elbowed Gajeel in the gut to cut him off mid-sentence.

"Yeah, like Gajeel, Natsu, _Gray…_" Levy listed, her cutesy smile getting a lot less cute by the second. Gajeel eyed me knowingly, oh yeah, that's right, he knows about my bitch ass huge crush on him…me and my stupid fat mouth.

"I'm just a social person Levy." I reasoned with a shrug.

That has got to be the shittiest lie I've ever told in my entire existence.

Lucy was laughing. Dammit even _Lucy _knows I hate socialization.

Gajeel bent over to conceal the fact that he was laughing, but, to my astonishment, Lisanna was the one who rescued me.

"Ooh, look! The game is starting!"

Everybody's eyes simultaneously darted to the ice, where the players had lined up, probably for the national anthem or some shit.

Truth be told, the anthem was sung by some theater nerd who I'm pretty sure I once called a hyperactive bitch.

Her voice was alright, but she waved her hands around like she was having a seizure while she sang.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Gray noticing the same thing and trying to hold his laughter in.

And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad Lucy had gotten us close seats.

I didn't notice that I'd been grinning like a psychopath until Gajeel hip checked me.

"Hey Hannibal, you gonna eat some Fullbuster dick for breakfast?" He whispered.

Ah yes, I think I'll write '_if only he wasn't such a little fucktard' _on his gravestone.

"Why don't you shut your damn mouth." I said, not meeting his gaze.

A few minutes passed as the game began, mostly just setting up positions and flipping coins and shit. Boring, but I was counting on the game to be as exciting as my dad made it out to be.

Gajeel, leaned down, probably to whisper something to me.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he's looking for someone."

He didn't even say who, but I knew. I definitely knew.

"S-shut up." I mumbled, a blush biting my cheeks. He snorted, probably amused by my girly-ass crush.

I didn't even realize that the game had started until six players whizzed past me, probably Gray included.

"Holy shit! They're so fast!" I marveled. These assholes could skate faster than I could swim, and that was an accomplishment.

"Damn right. That's why we're goin' to State." Gajeel said as a matter-o-factly. I didn't know that Gajeel was a hockey fan. "And your Fullbuster guy is the best we've got."

I blushed, yet again. "He's not _my _Fullbuster, he's just…my friend."

Great. Even _I've _admitted to our friendship.

"Keep tellin' yourself that." He mumbled, grinning wolfishly at my discomfort.

A puck slammed against the glass in front of me, shortly followed by six other guys, jolting me out of my daze. The puck was almost invisible, it was extremely hard to tell what was happening. So I settled for the next best thing.

"Gajeel, what's happening?" I tugged on his sleeve and stood on my tip toes, trying to see which side of the ice the puck was on.

"Not much has happened, but your lover boy had a pretty good shot a little bit ago. These guys really aren't a threat." Gajeel explained, his eyes continuously trained on the ice.

"Gajeel, shut the fuck up." I grumbled, peering over the heads of people in front of me to see better.

It was definitely exciting, I could see why my dad liked it so much. One second they'd be by the goal the next second they'd be sucker punching each other in the faces. So attractive.

Then again, when it was _Gray _who was doing it, then it most definitely was.

He was incredible. You could easily tell he was the best player, the other team practically rode up his ass because they knew that his team would almost always pass to him.

Damn him. Damn him and his stupid ass perfectness. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was Satan. Yup, that's it. Gray is Satan.

My eyes stayed glued to Graytan (eheheeh) for fifteen whole minutes, watching him skate, watching him slam into other player, watching ice spray from the bottom of him skates.

Maybe I should leave. I could drown the entire stadium with the drool I was most likely producing.

"Hey! Juvia!"

Ah, _fuck._

"Juvia! Juvia, it's me, Natsu! Juvia!"

Motherfucker. This is not what I needed. I didn't need this deranged pink badger to annoy the ever loving shit out of me for the next hour.

He sidled up next to me, pressing his face uncomfortably close to mine.

"So I was _riiiight_," he sang, nudging me obnoxiously with his elbow.

"Touch me one more time and I'll drown you."

"_Oookay, _but I _was _right." He revered back to the original topic, taking a mini step away from me. "Hey Lucy."

Lucy looked over and waved cutely before turning to Levy and giggling. Fuck, I forgot about that.

I glared sharply at him before answering. "Right about what?"

He smirked. "About you liking Gray, of course."

Seriously? Is fucking _everybody _out to piss me off via Gray?

"_No_, I do not, I came to be nice." I said flatly.

"No she didn't, Juvia hates being nice." Gajeel said tersely before turning around to talk to Levy again. Bastard, he knows I'll kill him later.

"Suuuuure. But still, you think he's hot, right? This is really good, by the way, Gray needs a girl. He's such a fucking loser, you know. All he cares about is hockey, his future, and…I don't know, I don't really listen to his 'come feel bad for me' shit." Natsu rambled.

…Alright, so now I'm seeing why Gray comes to _me _for company. He's got the shittiest friends I've ever seen.

"You know what Nastu? I'm pretty sure you're the third person today that I've decided to sacrifice."

He froze for a minute, like he didn't understand what I was saying, but slowly, very slowly, he backed away from me, until he was full on sprinting back to his seat.

"What'd Natsu say to you?" Lisanna asked hopefully.

"Ah, he wanted to know when our project was due." I covered, casually (ok, not so casually) looking back at the game (at Gray).

Suddenly a buzzer went off, and everybody started cheering.

"Wait, wait, what happened?" I asked confusedly, punching Gajeel's arm until I got an answer.

"Weren't ya watching? Loke just fucked the goal!"

I wasn't sure what 'fucked the goal' meant, but everybody seemed excited and happy, so I figured that meant he scored a goal.

I felt bad that I missed it, Gray had asked me to come so that I could watch the game and so far I was doing a pretty shitty job of it.

I stood up on my chair, barely balancing by clutching to Gajeel's shoulder. I was instantly astonished by how much I could see, even the puck was in my vision!

Of course, that all changed when some guy on the other team slammed it across the rink and out of sight.

"Dammit," I burst out, pressing my toes to the bench and peeking up, relying on the swarm of players to tell me where the puck was.

"Gajeel, tell me what the hell is going on," I commanded, not allowing myself to look away from the ice.

"Well, the goalie just deflected a shot, and since the centre…."

Blah blah _blah._

"Just tell me who's winning!" I screamed, pulling at his long hair.

"Ouch! We are, dammit!"

"Oh, well that's-oh shit! Oh shit, holy shit!" I practically punched Gajeel in surprise.

"What, what happened? I missed it because your fat ass was in the way!"

"Shit! Some dude just fuckin' decked Gray!"

"That kind of crap happens all the time. Would you calm down? You sound like a baked groupie." Gajeel sat back down.

"Oh my god! I think he's bleeding! Are you sure this is normal?" I tried to mentally zoom in on Gray, who had his face covered by his arm annoyingly.

"Relax, it's pretty much halftime, he'll have a few minutes to recuperate." Gajeel leaned back and stared at the ceiling ominously.

"There's no way this is normal. He's literally bleeding all over the ice, is that a health code violation?" I speculated, peering over the stands to see the mess that the hockey players had made.

All of a sudden, a giant annoying buzzing noise echoed throughout the stadium.

"Halftime" Gajeel announced, tapping his imaginary watch as if saying 'I-told-you-so'.

"Shut up Gajeel, go fuck a wet towel."

"Drink a dick spice latte."

"Punch yourself in the ovaries."

"Stick a hockey stick up your ass"

"Touch a-"

Lucy interrupted me by shrieking loudly and waving her hands like a lost penguin.

"Where's my bag!? I think I lost it, I can't find it!"

Her cries of worry sent everyone around her into a frenzy, practically diving into the popcorn-and-pepsi soiled cement floors in search for her lost bag.

"Hey! Wait! I see it, down there!" Lisanna called, pointing down at the bottom of the seats beside the rink. It must have fallen down earlier.

"I'll get it," I assured, stepping past stupid people who refused to walk faster than the speed of slowness down the steps.

"Wait, what's happening?" I heard Gajeel asked. Hm, hopefully Levy would brief him on the situation.

When I finally arrived at the base of the steps (albeit slowly, do people not know how to walk these days? It's literally not that hard, left foot, right foot, left foot…and so on) I hurried to grab Lucy's bag, praying that no dimensionally challenged folks stepped on it.

I tucked the bag into my fluffy scarf, not wanting to risk dropping it on the ground again.

Lucy waved at me from our spot, giving me an encouraging thumbs up. She was nervous, she covered it well, but I could always tell when she was scared.

When I got up to her, I thrusted the bag into her arms, making sure she would calm down and just breathe.

"Th-thanks, Levy, could you grab my counter?"

This was perfectly normal, Levy was Lucy's designated calorie counter. You might ask, 'wow, is Lucy one of those huge freaks who constantly checks how many calories she eats to lose weight?' and if you ever asked that to her face, I wouls kindly pull you aside and throw you off a cliff, but in order for convenience, _no, _Lucy is not one of those people.

To keep herself physically _alive, _she has to count her calories. Diabetes does that to people.

"Do you want to go to the bathroom Lucy? You should probably wash your hands first." Lisanna chimed in.

Ah yes, the pickle disaster of 2012. Lucy had been eating a pickle only minutes before she was to check her blood sugar, and being the silly little blonde she was, forgot to wash her hands, and had a seizure and a half when her blood sugar was more than double what it should be.

One trip to the hospital later, all of us learned an important lesson. Pickles are demon penises, and you should never, under any circumstances, eat them.

"Oh, yeah, probably." Lucy blushed in embarrassment and stood up, followed by Levy, and then me. I just wanted to come and make sure that everything was all right.

"Do you feel sick at all?" Levy asked kindly.

"No, no, I just got really worried there, is all." She said timidly, her teeth reaching her bottom lip as we all huddled into the bathroom.

While Lucy washed her hands, Levy and I stood guard near the door. Lucy hated when people pitied her because of her disease, and I didn't blame her one bit. So we generally kept it a secret.

Which…now that I think about it…is sort of a horrible idea…

"Ok, Levy, can you grab the insulin?"

Levy assisted Lucy, seeing as she was completely familiar with her routine. I told her that she had to inject it into her stomach.

I was 100% used to Lucy's needles, I'd injected her before and even though it may seem gross or creepy at first it's actually not that bad. Well, for me anyway. I shouldn't really speak for Lucy, who, you know, actually gets impaled by the needle.

"Ok, done." Levy retracted the needle with a proud smile.

And then, we all had the ever loving bajeezus scared out of us when the door busted open with a vicious slam.

Levy, still wielding Lucy's needle, held it in front of her like a sword and Lucy was cowering behind her little black bag.

Six huge hockey players barreled in, all talking and laughing.

"Are we…are we in the guy's bathroom?" Levy squeaked, still refusing to move the needle.

Lucy looked around, probably in search of a spare urinal.

"I don't…think so…" she concluded. The players had still neglected to notice us, laughing and talking and walking over to the dispenser thingy.

"Uh…excuse us?" Levy asked, attempting to get the tallest players attention that was closest to us.

He turned around, and I recognized him, just barely.

"Oh! Ah, shit, we're sorry, we didn't think anyone was in here." He apologized, the other players still busy doing…whatever the hell they were doing.

"Kind of a stupid assumption, it's halftime, right?" I asked dryly, sounding a lot bitchier than I had intended.

He studied me for a second. "Oh…ah! I know you, you're…Julie? Something? I saw you at the swim meet."

I wasn't sure whether to be offended, or just creeped out.

"Yeah. Something like that. Why are you here?" I gestured to the girls bathroom with a wild shrug.

"Oh, right. We're getting tampons."

Ah, of course, why didn't I assume that?

"Why." Lucy asked, well, more like _told._

"For Gray's nose! Coach always makes us use them, they work better than tissues, or whatever." He shrugged.

Hm…I'm 87% positive his name is something _really _stupid, like, 'fighter' or some other weird star wars-ish name.

"You're seriously just going to shove a tampon up Gray's nose?" I said, not really trying to prevent the eruption of giggles from my mouth.

"Hey, whatever works." The guy shrugged, and took notice of the other players who had gotten the tampon and were about to leave.

"Send me a picture," I bid, not able to picture Gray within the _vicinity _of a tampon. I don't know, I guess his manly hotness just sort of…cancelled them out.

"I'm gonna need your number first," the guy shot back with a smirk.

Walked right into _that _one.

"Aha, funny. Good luck out there." I said, a lot more cheerfully than I actually was.

"Aw, what? I don't get your digits?" The guy asked, a silly smile on his face.

Well…the guy wasn't _too _creepy…he was giving off the sort of big-brother vibe, or whatever you call it. And it wasn't like he was actually going to text me anyways.

"Well…sure…" I said slowly. He smiled with half of his mouth, before pulling his phone from god knows where.

I rattled off my phone number to him quickly, a shocked, and stunned, Levy and Lucy behind me.

It _did _feel a _teensy _bit nice to get noticed.

_Teensy, tinsy. _But still there.

"It's Juvia, by the way." I said, figuring that if I gave this dude my phone number he should probably take my name with it.

"I'm Sting. But I bet you already knew that." He winked and walked away, but not before running into the bathroom door and awkwardly scooting away.

**(before you guys freak out, FUCK NO I am not trying to put a lame ass love triangle in using STING for fucks sakes, he is simply there for a different reason.)**

**(and also, sting. I needed him in this story.)**

"Juvia! That was…"

"You just gave that guy your…"

"And he was cute!" Lucy finished, shaking my shoulders.

"Oh, relax, it's not like he's actually going to text me." I repeated rationally, opening the bathroom door to escort her out.

"Oh, but did you see that? He was hitting on you! Oh my god, Juvia! This is so exciting! Oh I have to tell Erza, and Lisanna, and Jellal, and…" As Lucy listed off the entire student body, I tried to remember where I had seen Sting before.

It was something big…and it was just on the tip of my…

"-oooh! And Mr. Hammond! He'll want to know as well!"

I resisted the urge to smash my head through the glass that separated the rink from the stands. Was this really necessary?

"Maybe I should just put a banner around the whole school!" Lucy shouted, clapping her hands together like a walrus from Seaworld.

"Yeah Luce, it'll say 'local girl gives phone number to guy, rejoice!'" I said sarcastically.

"Come on Ju-Ju, you of all people should be excited about this!" Levy scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." I said blankly, sidling back up to our seats. The players had already returned to the ice, and I found myself searching for Gray.

"What took you guys so long?" Gajeel asked, munching on pretzels absently as I took my seat.

"We ran into some people. Has the game started, or what?" I asked, unsure because the players were moving, but not very fast.

"No, we got about a minute. Is blondie alive?" He looked over at Lucy to make sure that she was indeed conscious.

"Yeah, she just dropped her bag was all." I shrugged it off as the buzzer went off.

"_Now _it's starting."

After a few minutes (or was it hours? I couldn't really tell with this game…) some guy got slammed into the wall and had to be shipped out into an ambulance.

Gajeel, once again, assured me that it was perfectly normal but I had my doubts.

Then it all started dying down, you could tell the game was almost over because the snack bar with ridiculously over priced snacks from hell had closed up and people had begun leaving early to beat traffic.

But now that a solid quarter of the people had left, I could perfectly see the game.

"Ooh look! Gajeel! That guy's got the puck!"

"Yup."

"Ohmygosh, now _that _guy took it!"

"Uh huh."

"Holy shit! It just went flying! This is crazy!"

"God."

With Gajeel quickly getting irritated with my wonder, I was glad that the game was almost over. But still, I could feel myself drawing closer to the game. It was really exciting, you could never tell who was winning or losing. Gajeel begged to differ, but I told him to shut up so that dilemma is solved.

The clocky timer thing was down to only a few seconds, and Gray had the puck.

I would be a complete bitch-ass liar if I said I thought he wasn't going to make a goal within the last second like some super hockey god ninja.

Suddenly he came to a speeding halt and his hockey stick flew out in front of him. I think. I don't know, it was impossible to tell he went so fast.

"Gajeel, what happene-"

A buzzer went off and I heard cheering. We must've won.

I mean, we were winning anyways, but I'm not sure if Gray had made that goal or not…

But soon Gajeel was standing next to me, clapping.

"That was fuckin' awesome. We just made it to state." He rejoiced, throwing and empty pepsi bottle at the ice.

Then I really realized how exciting this was. We just made it to _state. _The state championship, and Gray had made it.

…All the more pressure to go to a big time University.

I sighed, digging my cool hands in my sweatshirt pockets and burying my cheeks and chin into my scarf.

I lightly pulled my phone out of my pocket.

And then I screamed.

Like a _loud _scream, but it was sort of muffled because I was pretty shocked so my voice kind of died mid-screech.

_Fuck you Sting._

That absolute dickburger had sent me a picture, of _Gray, _vERY MUCH SHIRTLESS. In the locker room, wearing his hockey pants, flipping off the camera, holding a tampon.

I've never seen something so gorgeously hilarious in my entire existence.

So I laid there on the bleachers, you know, _convulsing, _with Gajeel staring at me, frightened.

"What. The. Fuck?" He asked, just…_staring. _It was a good thing that Levy, Lucy, and Lisanna had all left early, or they would've suspected something. Insanity, probably.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just…sorry…" I wiped stray tears from my eyes as I attempted to send a jumbled response back to Sting.

Ok, just _one _more look, surely his probably rock hard attractive chest muscles won't kill me in one glance, right?

Wrong. Wrong, I was wrong I WAS WRONG.

"Shit Jubes, do you need an ambulance?" Gajeel asked, scratching the side of his head worriedly.

"No. I'm fine." I said, my voice muffled by my scarf.

"Suit yourself. See you Monday." Gajeel started walking down the street. Lucky bastard, he lives a block away from the school he can just sleep in until seven twenty and still be on time for school.

Oh wait. Fuck, I'm alone.

I texted my dad to come pick me up, praying that he was still awake and not watching TV.

Surprisingly, he texted back rather quickly, telling me he'd be here in five.

Plus, the game had ended at nine thirty. No ass-frying for me, I'd make it home by my dad's half-assedly set curfew.

Looks like my butt-fucking-shitty luck has just run out, and it was time for a small dose of actual, fire-breathing good luck.

Plus, I now had a shirtless picture of Gray in my possession.

Ok, ok. I'll only look at it…once a week. Maybe twice. Depends on how my week is going. I might actually die from the amount of nosebleeds that that picture will surely give me.

Which is actually ironic, because his nose is bleeding in the picture.

Dammit, why can't I just be hilarious?

No new texts from my dad had arrived. Great, just brilliant, really. This is exactly what I needed, to spend time, alone, sitting on the curb like a total weirdo freezing my ass cheeks off.

Ok, I just need to calm down; it's only been a few minutes…just a few minutes.

To distract myself, I slipped my phone back out and texted Sting back.

_wtf dont text me porn_

I slid my phone into my scarf for easy access and went back to drowning in my own thoughts.

The parking lot was empty now, well, save a few cars towards the back, but those were probably just the janitor's cars.

And there was no way in the depths of hell that I was going to ask them for a ride.

Ok, ten minutes. That's fine, that's fine. He's still got time.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out quickly to distract myself.

Sting.

_its not porn if his vagina isnt showing_

Ah, I could already tell that we were going to get along _very _well. But I still couldn't quite put my finger on where I remembered him from, but I knew it was something big.

_but his boobs are still showing. get your child porn away from me._

Ha ha. I'm funny on Sundays, I promise.

The stars looked nice tonight. You could actually see them, usually the lights of the city or the neighborhood drowned them out, but I could spot every circumpolar right now if I wanted to.

_Ah, ok. Draco…Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassopoiopia, or whatever you call it…and…what's the other one? Cygnus? Papyrus? No, I'm positive it started with a C…_

While I pondered the whereabouts of the final constellation, I simultaneously hoped that my dad would actually bloody _show up._

This would definitely not be the first time I'd been stranded, it happened mostly at swim practices. My dad would text me a simple _on my way _and like a total dumb asshole I would believe him. And then, an agonizing hour and a half later, he would arrive and claimed to have been 'robbed by teens' or 'struck with a double heart attack' when we both very well knew that he had been distracted by something shiny. And by shiny I mean the TV.

And it wasn't like my mom would interfere, I'm pretty sure today was her MFCT meeting. It's nit actually called MFCT, that's just what my dad and I call it. It stands for Moms for Channing Tatum, because lord knows that's the only thing they talk about. She said it was something like an 'educational book related talk session'? But she was fooling absolutely no one, especially with the obscene amount of wine bottles she brought to each meeting.

The street was completely dark. This only served to piss me off further, because it was just now dawning on me that my dad probably wasn't going to get here. Ever, in fact. I would not be surprised if he had sent me the text, and then subsequently fell asleep.

To make matters worse, the school doors were locked so I had no way of getting back to the warm, heated building. I was doomed to get my ass frozen solid to the curb.

My funeral will be nice. You know, dark flowers, not an open casket (come on guys, that's gross. Nobody wants to see my dead face) soft music, my mom crying and being a total attention whore…

_Swoosh!_

"-The difference is, I don't fucking give a shit about that. All I care about is that your position at state is not jeopardized."

"Oh, would you shut the fuck up?! I'll be fine, if you could just stop acting like a goddamn _mom_-"

"See? You don't get it, do you? This is the biggest opportunity of your _life, _determines whether or not you get a full scholarship to the U!"

"Well, maybe I don't-"

This is exactly what I fucking needed. This is the equivalent of getting stage three terminal brain cancer.

"Ah, my favourite hobo."

Stab my lower intestine.

"Hey Gray."

He sized me up, and I could imagine his half amused half calculating smile that he was probably wearing.

"You uh…you waiting for someone?" He asked, a smile breaking through his voice.

"Yes Gray. I'm waiting for my horse and buggy, which was scheduled to arrive at nine thirty." I said tiredly.

"So that's a no." He said more than asked.

"Pretty much." I yawned.

"You're just going to sit here? All night?" He asked amusedly.

"Hopefully only until one. I've got shit to do tomorrow." I mumbled.

A car drove up, and I realized that it must've been Lyon, Gray's friend, or brother, or whatever he was, that he was arguing with.

"Gray, get your ass in the car." He said after rolling down the window conspicuously and shooting me a friendly glare.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on Juvia." He motioned for me to stand up as he opened his car door.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"Get in. We're driving you home." He said simply, leaning down so that I could take his hand.

"We most certainly _are not_." Lyon intercepted, turning back to argue with Gray.

"Shut the fuck up Lyon, it's not like you have some place to be." Gray rolled his eyes and took my hand without my consent, pulling me into the car with ease.

"Well, I-"

"_Can't _stay out at night. It's not safe. Raccoons and such." Gray interrupted. Lyon rolled his icy eyes in the mirror and began to drive.

"Where do you live?' He grumbled.

"Uh…just off of Cliff, and to the left of Curry." I mumbled.

I was in Gray's car.

"Gray, as I was saying, I want you at the rink _all of tomorrow. _You were sucking ass out there today, if you're like that at state you'll never get into the University."

There was so much fire in Gray's eyes; I probably could've roasted marshmallows over them.

"I _can't, _I'm going to the hills tomorrow for school." Gray argued back, a bite in the edge of his words.

Oh yeah, _shit _that's tomorrow…

"Fuck the hills! You need _practice_, state is in two weeks! And you're dicking around with girls; get your ass into gear." Lyon growled, speeding through a dangerously red light.

Oh, he was talking about me. So I'm the five dollar Florida whore now.

"Go to hell Lyon, not everything is about the goddamn University." Gray said, his voice far beyond annoyed and trekking into beat-im-up ville.

"Are you fucking serious? I'm looking out for you, this college is your future!" Lyon yelled.

"This isn't about me! This is about _you, _and your failed college dreams. There are other colleges you know." Gray bit back.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Lyon asked darkly.

"Like Holy Angels!"

Aw, that's cute. He used my college.

Lyon laughed coldly. "What the _fuck _is that?"

Ok, _wow. _Eat a dick Lyon.

"What do you mean, what the fuck is that? It's a school." I shot, immediately regretting diving face first into their argument.

"A shitty school, never heard of it." Lyon reasoned.

"Well no offense, but what you've never heard of could fill a warehouse!" I flung.

Whoops. Strike three for Juvia. I'm dead, that's it. My sassiness finally dug me a six foot grave.

At least Gray was happy. He was laughing his ass off.

Lyon however, looked like his face was about to explode.

"Jesus Gray, where the _fuck _did you find her?" He finally asked, like I was some cheap how he could pay to see.

"You've probably never heard of it." Gray said slyly, catching my eye.

_Dammit _he's so sinfully sexy without even trying _why would you do this to me?_

"Shut up Gray! You'd better be at the hills for less than an hour." He stewed. I was actually kind of proud now, I'd shoved him in his place. Asshole.

I spotted my house, dimly lit by the nearest streetlight.

"Uh…thanks. For the ride." I said awkwardly, climbing out of the car.

"I'll walk you up." Gray said, almost excitedly.

Shit. Fuck. He's walking me to the door? Why is he doing that? This isn't a date?!

Every alarm in my brain went off, it was annoying, like one giant fire alarm extravaganza and all that was happening was Gray was walking me to my front door.

"Thanks. I don't think I've ever seen Lyon at a loss for words." He thanked, even though I should be the one thanking him for not letting me freeze to death like the dude from the goddamn shining on the street.

"Well, he deserved it." I reasoned. He really was pushy when it came to college, I could see why Gray was having such a hard time with him on that deal.

When we finally got up to the door, I was expecting Gray to leave, but he lingered when I knocked on the door hesitantly.

_Shit. What time is it anyway?_

I sideways glanced at y phone through my scarf, seeing that the time was indeed fifteen past.

Shit.

I knocked again, this time to be met with my mother's loud voice.

"I'm coming, I'm coming…who in the _world _could be here at this hour…"

_Oh, I don't know, maybe your half frozen daughter?_

My mom opened the door, and to my absolute and utter horror, was completely decked out in one of those gross greenish cucumber mask thingies and she had her fluffy ink robe on and was holding a half empty bottle of wine.

"Juvia! What on _earth _are you doing here this late?! Mark! _Mark! _Get your ass over here!" My mom screeched, chucking the cucumbers onto the ground and glaring.

"You are far past curfew, I have been worried _sick-_"

_Oh yeah mom, I can really tell._

"-Your father and I were _this _close to calling the police-"

"What? What's happening? Fire?" My dad asked groggily, clearly being recently awoken from a nap.

"Mark! Your daughter is _late!" _My mom cried shrilly.

I was very, very close to just walking back to the front yard and just telling Lyon to run me over. _Very _close. My family had still refused to acknowledge Gray's presence.

"What? I told you if you got here past ten, I'd fry your ass on the stove!?"

Finally, I spoke up. "Well it's not _my _fault, you _said _you were coming to pick me up!"

"No I didn't!"

"It's right here, on my phone!" I held it up so that my family could see.

"You should've gotten a ride from a friend then!" My mom argued.

"I did!" I yanked Gray's arm up and waved it around, not realizing my mistake.

My family froze, and slowly peered out the door to examine Gray's sheepish face.

"Hi." He said weakly.

My mother's dangerous face immediately turned warm, and my dad went from crazy shotgun dad to fangirl dad.

"You're Gray Fullbuster." My dad said. Oh _god _I wanted to punch him, if he asked for an autograph I _swear…_

"Uh…yeah. Sir." Gray said, unsure of how to react.

My dad smiled and laughed. "Well, if I knew it was you, I wouldn't have made such a scene! You're practically carrying our team to state!" My dad cheered.

My fake smile was wearing thin. I'm pretty sure I looked like Heath Ledger, too.

"Oh, uh. Thank you." Gray said modestly.

"No problem, say, the night's still young, you two have some fun."

And now I'm coughing. And choking loudly.

"What?" I coughed out, holding my scarf until my knuckles turned white.

"Well, I thought you'd be out partying, but you're with a responsible sports star." My dad reasoned, although his reasoning seemed to be shadowed by a large amount of drugs.

"Dad, are you doing crystal meth? Are you high? Just because he's your favorite sports player doesn't mean you can ship him off with some cash and a ring and it's all done!"

Aaaand I just bought myself a one way ticket to house jail. Fuck.

…My dad didn't seem fazed at all.

"If only it were that simple. Instead, I get to pay for your college." My dad shrugged and I died.

Yup. That's it. End of story. Juvia died at the end of chapter four, or whatever fucking chapter we're on. All done.

"I thought you didn't know I played hockey." Gray whispered under his breath, his eyes glued to mine. Shit. Blew myself on that one.

"I thought you were a different Gray Fullbuster." I whispered back, hopefully allowing him to drop it.

He was about to say something else, but I interrupted loudly.

"Well, it's late, and we have a school project tomorrow. I should probably turn in…" I lazily snuck through the door only to be stopped by my father.

"A group project? Sounds fun, are you two going to be alone?" My mom asked sneakily. _God _I want to fucking murder them.

"_No. _Two other people are coming, we're just going to the hills." I muttered.

"I bet you want me to drive you again." My dad said monotonously.

"That's ok, I've got a car, I'll drive her." Gray interrupted. Well shit.

"_Thank _you Gray. For everything. And you can go now." I said, hoping my voice wasn't too panicky.

"Sounds great! And afterwards, you lot can come in and watch the game! It's the least we can offer you, since you were sweet enough to drive our daughter home." My mom said sweetly.

Oh god. I'm gonna puke. I'm gonna straight up die from embarrassment. Sorry Gray, for leaving you alone with Lisanna and Cobra, but I'm  
going to a better place.

"That sounds nice." Gray said, surprisingly sounding happy.

"Great, we'll see you then!" My dad said, sounding very fake dad-like. God, we're not the fucking brady bunch. Don't leave me Gray, save me!

"See you tomorrow Juvia," Gray waved, giving me a one finger salute that was honestly really sexy and now I kind of just want to lick him.

Fuck. I'm literally so screwed.

Do you know what my original plane was? It was to grow the fuck up, never, _ever, _fucking talk to Gray, go the fuck to college, and get a fucking life. Gray literally fucked up that plan so much only a sponge would be able to clean up the mess.

The car drove away speedily, with Lyon probably extremely eager to get the hell away from me. I don't blame him, my luck could light a four leaf clover on fire.

"What the fuck was that?!" I asked accusingly, looking at my parents with their fake sappy cutesiness.

My mom dropped the act immediately. "Oh come _on _Juvia, he was a perfect 10! I want my legacy to be supermodels!" She hip checked e and sauntered back to the kitchen.

"And I want my grandkids to play hockey. This is really the only thing in life we agree on." My dad reasoned, gesturing to my mom and shrugging.

Ok, so my parents ship the fuck out of Gray and me. Shit.

"Alright, well, I'm just gonna go jump out my bedroom window, ok?" I asked rhetorically, stomping up to my room and throwing myself on my bed.

Fuck you, Gray Fullbuster.

.

**sor**ry **for the shittyness. thank you guys for all of your reviews! feelfree to ask me any questions you have or whatever but yeah review I like when ppl do that**


	6. Shut Up Cobra

**sorry in advance if this chapter sux, its mainly plot development**

* * *

There's truly nothing like waking up to the smell of perspiration and fear.

Fuck. Why am I even up this early? It's like 9, I don't need this on a Saturday.

I rolled over and shoved my face into my pillow. It smelt like tears and failed dreams. And I know exactly how that smells, after all, I sit next to Gajeel for hours on end.

Haha, bam! I am bitchy in the mornings.

I smiled to myself lazily and pushed my hair out of my face, which was surprisingly untangled.

"The fuck is this!"

"Haha! Eat that you son of a bitch!"

"Fuck it! Fuck this, fuck this game!"

"It's your fault for picking Yoshi, you piece of shit!"

God _dammit. _My mom must've found Super Smash Bros. again, fuck I hid that for a reason!

"You just egg shitted me off a cliff!"

Yup. Definitely Super Smash Bros.

Not that I was bad at it or anything, I can kick anyone's ass any day of the week, but my parents get so damn competitive my dad has slept on the couch for a full week in what he called a 'peaceful protest' to boycott the use of Kirby.

That's right, my family's a tub of fuckin' nerds.

I stumbled down the stairs, feeling 50% drunk and 50% dead. I just needed some coffee and lucky charms to boost my morale. That's all.

"Oh, Juvia, you're awake! Come here, I need your help!" My mom yelled sweetly. That's right. She can yell sweetly. Don't know how she does it, but she does.

I zombie stalked into the living room to see what she wanted. My dad was lying on the couch, visibly defeated, and I saw the final screen from Super mash Bros, revealing that my mom had killed my dad eighteen times in twelve minutes.

"_He _thinks I cheated. Look at those results. _Tell _me I cheated. Go ahead. Tell me!" My mom pushed.

"Look, I really don't care about whatever it is you're doing. I just need to get my caffeine and go." I admitted, jamming my thumb in the opposite direction and backing away slowly.

"NOOOO! Let me help you get dressed! Your first date is today!" My mom football tackled me to the ground and sat on my hip to make sure I wouldn't budge.

"Urg…Mom…can't…inhale…" I choked as she babbled on about my 'first date'. Wait…first date?

"Mom…what date?"

She looked at me like I had just swallowed an entire wine bottle. "Your date. With…Gray."

"My what with who?" I stammered. I don't remember getting a date! When was this?

Oh…wait…

"Mom! It's not a date!" I covered, shoving her off of me and grabbing the kitchen counter for balance.

"Don't be silly, of course it's a date! Now I think we all know that blue is your color, but I personally think that a little white-"

"_Moooooommm_," I moaned, my voice cracking severely.

"What? And if you'd just use that cleavage of yours…you're welcome, by the way…then maybe-"

"_MOM._" I screeched, sinking my nails (well, more like claws) into the countertop to prevent my mom from kidnapping me and dragging me into my own personal hell.

"Christ Tiffany, tell your daughter to quiet down." My dad moaned, like he was hungover from losing to my mom so many times.

"Juvia, you're bothering your father. I have a few dresses if you want to-"

"Mom, my phone's ringing! It's probably Gray!" I flat-out lied, twisting out of my mom's claws (she wasn't fooling anyone with those fake nails) and racing up the stairs with a newfound sense of energy that I really wish I would've had when I ran the mile.

I was safe in my room.

I order to piss my mo off, I picked out my ugliest shirt I had to wear.

Originally, it wasn't that ugly. A simple tie dye long sleeve shirt that had 'qualifiers' on it with a crude drawing of a swimmer on it.

But, over the years, it had accumulated splats and splotches of house paint all over it. It was my designated 'paint' shirt, and now it kind of looked like it belonged in a really, really abstract museum.

I matched it with gray sweatpants and my favorite fuzzy boots.

Now I _really _look unfuckable.

I mean, it wasn't like my personality already made it so, right?

I tossed my hair into a half ponytail and began to sneak downstairs. You know, so I could eat breakfast without being cornered by my troll monster I mean mother.

My coffee maker was my most favorite thing in the entire world.

It made me a cup of coffee in about two minutes and it provided me with enough self-sufficient energy not to kill everyone who stood in my path.

It was a beautiful thing, truly. Without it, I would have my face plastered all over the FBI crime lab.

I started my morning cup, surprised that the kitchen was completely quiet.

Too quiet…

I imagined my mother crouched behind the counter, her claws out and teeth bared like she was about to take a bite out of my questionable wardrobe.

It's scary stuff.

My eyes darted from side to side, careful not to let my guard down. One false move, and I could end up-

_POP_

I flew twelve feet in the air and my mind went numb.

_Stupid, shitty toaster…_

I breathed out in relief and stole one of the chocolate chip waffles. They were probably my dad's, but I could just blame the missing waffle on my mom.

Now the _real _dilemma here was that Gray was scheduled to come over to my house today and watch the game with my dad.

Ugh, just thinking about it is giving me the shivers.

Partly because having Gray in my house would require me to turn the AC up. A _lot. _Because I would probably start to go into premature menopause. Also, there was a 100% chance that my dad would find _some way _to embarrass me into oblivion.

Maybe if I can convince Gray that my dad is mentally retarded, and he thinks he's living in a fantasy world…

Man…that would take a lot of convincing…I'd have to make it sound like he could hardly function on a daily basis…

Eh. I could do that.

Problem solved. I'd make up a zany harebrained lie that nobody would ever believe under any circumstances ever. That'll teach stupid Gray.

I munched on my dad's waffle. It was late. Around eleven. I forgot when Gray was going to pick me up.

Huh. I actually have no idea what time the project was.

I stopped chewing momentarily. I should probably text Lisanna…she is in my group after all…

I jumped up the stairs, waffle still in mouth, to grab my phone. Maybe text Sting too.

It was weird. I don't usually make friends this fast. But like I said, I was 1 gajillion percent positive that I'd met Sting before…but I guess I get early dementia.

Last night I had texted Sting a bunch. Totally random stuff, but we have similar senses of humor so it isn't as creepy as it seems.

I grabbed my phone and plugged in Lisanna's name. Huh. The last text I had sent her said 'chocolate blankets good'. Huh. Don't remember _that _happening.

I asked her what time the meet up was. Nothing else, I wasn't in the mood for Lisanna-esque small talk.

She texted me back fairly quickly, a simple 'noon' and that was all. Very weird. Lisanna always adds some sort of weird out of use emoticon after every text.

I texted Gajeel too, reminding him to research the Arctic for our policy group debate. I knew he wouldn't, but at least if I texted him I'd be able to say 'I told you so' when our grade drops to a C-.

That meant, that technically Gray was supposed to pick me up right about…

_Ding-dong._

Now. How nice, he's on time.

Oh no.

I'm too far away from the door.

Something terrible could happen. Like, say, my _mom _answering the door.

Like a catcall from hell, my mom's high pitched voice rang out a greeting towards Gray.

_Oh no….must…make it…to door…without…accidentally…killing…self…_

I basically threw myself down the stairs, trying to put as little amount of time as possible between myself and the door. Thankfully, the only thing my mom had said was 'hello' by the time I got there.

"Thanks mom gotta go bye see ya later!" I spoke, my voice lilting up and down from my clear out-of-breathedness.

I slammed the door shut, abandoning all polite protocol when it came to guests, especially guests who looked like Gray.

"Eager." He commented listlessly, hopping into his car.

I got into the opposing side, trying not to burst into tears from his particular attractiveness of the day.

Hoodies aren't supposed to be hot.

He's breaking the laws of fashion. And I'm totally a-ok with it.

"Nice outfit." He added while he started the car, nodding at my attire.

"Thank you," I said through my teeth. Stupid paint shirt and stupid grey sweatpants betrayed me in the end!

"Is Cobra going to come?" I asked, sounding very much rude as I straightened the fallen pieces of my hair out.

"Yeah. I mean, I think. Don't know what goes on in that guy's head," he shook his head, his hair falling in front of his perfectly perfect eyebrows like heaven do you guys even realize how hard it is for me to even sit still I need some air.

"Ok. I know that Lisanna's coming, so that'll be all of us." I said, a little panicky. My sixth sense was telling me that we were approaching an awkward silence and I felt the need to scream at the top of my lungs. You know. As an alternative to dead silence.

To my surprise, my sixth sense was wrong. That's a first.

"So…listen, I get the feeling that you're kind of uncomfortable about me coming over to your house today." He clarified. Something in the way he said it made me realize that he had put a lot of thought into it.

"Er…about that…" I mumbled, about to use that wacky excuse that I was going to use, but he stopped me.

"I won't come if you don't want me too…but…"

_But? But? Why is there a but?_

"I'll need a favor in return."

Oh no.

All of my senses were on high alert, screaming _not to do it_, that this was the point in every law and order where the girl gets raped and oh god he was so cute why did he have to be evil…

"Juvia?" He asked, a bit thrown off by the look of utter distress that was no doubt written all over my face like a damn chalkboard.

"Uhhh…what kind of favor…" I asked, my voice revealing my uncertainty and suspicion.

"I don't know yet. But I don't want to make you uncomfortable." He repeated, almost reassuringly like 'I'm not going to rape you Juvia' but much more subtly, and suave.

Damn him and his suavity.

"O…k…" I agreed. Whew. Got outta that one. Check one bothersome detail off of Juvia's to-do list.

But…a favor…what could he possibly want that he doesn't already have? And from _me _nonetheless! I already knew he was smarter than me, let's not even talk about attractiveness, he seems to be well-off moneywise…the only problem he's really facing is…

College.

Did he want me to get him into a college? I don't have any connections! What am I supposed to do if he asks for one! I have so much shit from Holy angels he probably assumed that I knew someone there…oh god…it's all going down…

"Are you ok?" His gorgeous voice interrupted my mind melt down.

"Y-yeah. But I just want to let you know in advance that I have literally no idea how to measure solar density." I admitted, quickly slapping a hand over my cheeks to cover my stupid blush.

He smiled, one of his sexy 'I-know-something-you-don't' smirks.

"Then we'll wing it."

* * *

"The fuck is this?"

Ok. I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand times, I'll write a song about it, I'll name a country, adopt a highway.

I fucking _hate _Cobra.

I hate a lot of things too.

Crocs, people who think it's acceptable to grab girls' asses, when people laugh at something that is clearly not funny, suspenders, ketchup, belly buttons…a whole lot of things.

But I really, really, really hate Cobra.

He just really enjoys flipping my bitch switch like there's no tomorrow.

And I'll be honest, I'm having a really tough time here not measuring the distance I could throw him if I chopped him up into little Cobra mince meat and shot him out of a canon.

A _real _tough time.

And, apparently, Gray's the only one who's got a clue here.

I guess he was being modest in the car. We weren't 'winging it' we were following Gray like he was fucking Polaris.

"Uh, Lisanna, grab the timer." Gray instructed. I honestly hadn't the slightest clue what we needed it for, but hey, Gray's the boss.

But I _did _know that Cobra should not be poking that solar panel.

"Don't touch that." I whispered angrily, my words sharper than a guillotine.

He pivoted to look at me like I was a wad of gum that wouldn't let go of his sneaker.

"Who died and made you the queen." He said breathily, like he thought I couldn't hear him.

"Well you're about to if you don't keep your damn hands in your pockets." I snapped back, careful to make sure Gray and Lisanna couldn't hear us.

"Look chica, you've been doin' nothin' but glare at me for the past half hour. I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but if you don't shut that mouth of yours I'll shut it for you." He growled.

The _fuck. _I'm about to stab a bitch. Literally. My hand is shaking. I need a sharp object.

"_Excuse me_?" I asked. It was the kind of ask that was a lot more like 'are you sure you want to fuck with me good sir because I will raise Satan's army'.

"You heard me." He said, with a quick, innocent smile. "Hey Gray, how much have we got left?"

Gray stood up from his crouched position, surveying the area carefully.

"I'd say less than an hour. We've already got all the spots we just need all the measurements, plus the statistical-" _blah, blah, blah. _It's actually really hot that I can have no fucking clue what the hell he's even talking about, but I still won't fall asleep listening because _good golly gracious is he godly…_

Gross. I can't believe I just thought that. I'm a total sicko.

Wait. I just let Gray distract me from that asshole Cobra! Fuck, I would like so much to separate his dick from his-

"Hey Juvia~" Lisanna sang, just quiet enough that only I could hear.

"Hm." I hummed, not really listening, I was too busy planning to push Cobra into the stream. It was cold enough for him to die of hypothermia if he was there long enough…the frozen body would make it hard to determine a time of death…the water wears away all the DNA evidence...

"-lucked out. Two cuties in our group? Which one would you rather _do_?"

Ah. The dreaded _Girl Chat._

Wait, she thought Cobra was _cute_?

"Ew, totally Gray. Cobra's a fucking nightmare." Whoops. Did I say that out loud?

Lisanna giggled. "Juvia! That's mean, he's plenty good looking. If only he weren't so sour. But I agree with you. Definitely Gray." She licked her lips in fake seduction and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Did he drive you? I saw you guys get out of the same car!" Lisanna asked, suddenly excited like she had just remembered that tidbit of info.

"Uh…yeah. I didn't have a ride." I answered.

_Please drop it please drop it please drop it._

"What? And _he _drove you? I knew you guys were 'sort of' friends, but you're that close!? I need details!"

_…__Damn it._

"Uh. He asked me if I needed a ride after the game." I lied. A pretty good lie, if I do say so myself, but it still had holes…

"Really? He sought you out like that?" She asked for clarification.

"I was out in the parking lot and he saw me. No biggie." I mumbled, but in Lisanna's wide blue eyes, it most certainly _was _a biggie.

"Awwwwww, that's so cute! Do you think he likes you?" She asked hurriedly.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

Lisanna's face fell.

"What?" She asked, like she genuinely had no idea what was wrong with the idea of gray liking me.

"Him…and…me? Oh, you're so cute Lis," I giggled.

"What's wrong with him and you? I think you guys would be cute together…" Lisanna daydreamed.

"Come _on. _He's a ten, I'm a five." Wow. I can't believe I'm opening up to Lisanna about this.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Wha…you're kidding, right?"

What? Was he considered an eleven in her book? I mean, I wasn't one to argue, but I was sticking with a strict 1-10 metaphorical scale here…

"Oh my god." She realized, looking at me like I was the only person who still thought the earth was flat.

"What?"

"Juvia…" She started, rolling her eyes as if to say '_duh_', "You're gorgeous."

I blinked. This didn't usually happen.

I've been told I'm pretty a grand total of five times. Once by my mom, and the rest were by Erza.

And Erza only says that because he didn't want to completely trample me with her queenly beauty. Fucking goddess.

Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You didn't know?"

"Well…I mean…" I stuttered, completely at a loss for words. I don't know. I guess I was _sort of _pretty, if you held the mirror backwards…

Maybe a little pretty. I had a nice…face. And shape. I definitely had nice boobs. Well, not nice for me. Do you have any idea how much they weigh? It's like endlessly carrying groceries on your chest, except they do absolutely nothing! Zip! I don't need them! But I still have them.

"Oh my god Juvia, you're literally so pretty! Your eyes are all sparkly, and your hair is always soft, and your skin is like milk chocolate," Lisanna complemented, petting my knuckles and widening her eyes with every compliment.

But of course, being the complete and utter bonehead that I was, instead of saying something nice and grand, like 'thank you', or 'you're gorgeous too, lol love ya 3' I said _this._

"Are you sure?"

Lisanna dropped my hand and glared.

"Hey Gray!" She called.

Oh no. Why is she calling Gray. What's happening.

Gray jogged over to see what she wanted.

"Do you think Juvia's pretty?"

_Oh god._

Here it comes. I'm gonna throw up. I'm gonna throw up all my internal organs because hell if I need them where I'm going.

Hell.

There, I said it.

But I think his answer was the real thing that threw me off.

"Of course she is." Before he jogged back on his merry fuckin' way like he hadn't just made me fall in love with him to the eightieth power holy _shit my heart is melting._

"See? Pretty!" Lisanna said, patting my head happily. I didn't bother to point out how unfeministic it was to judge beauty on a single male's opinion, but I was too happy to care.

_Gray thought I was pretty._

That's at least a six on the scale! And there's a four number difference per every happy couple.

Immediately I realized what I was doing and slammed on the brakes.

_Woah._

_No no no no no. No Juvia. You are __**not **__going to get distracted by Gray. You have absolutely none point none chances with him. Zero. Just get __**over **__him._

"Hey chicas, get over here!" Cobra yelled.

What a great way to distract myself. Beating the ever-loving crap out of Cobra.

….

School on Monday was, in a word, _terrible._

My parents had been pissed off at me ever since I told them Gray couldn't come over. I blamed it on his busy hockey schedule, which, generally, should be pretty believable. But they shot the messenger and all but banished me from their sights.

Plus, my dad's car died and I had to take the bloody _bus _to school.

Dozens of sweaty children trying to tolerate each other for fifteen minutes all the while being smothered to death by each other's winter coats.

Plus, I'm pretty sure some guy grabbed my boob.

And Sunday night's grueling swim practice. Varsity practices are a gazillion times harder than JV, straight on planks for twenty minutes and laps 'till your limbs only have enough energy to unattach themselves from your body.

Also, Evergreen.

It took every milliliter of my self control not to smother her to death with her own huge tits.

It was second hour, and I knew in a bout three seconds I was about to be ambushed by Lucy or Levy. Not Lisanna though. God only knows if she'll manage to be on time today.

"_Livin' in my own world~"_

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

This is bad. This is really bad.

I was _not _in any sort of mood for Lucy's monthly sing along, not today, _not today…_

"_Didn't understand~" _Lucy sang, cupping my face like she was talking to me.

"No." I said flatly, before wildly turning into the classroom.

"_That anything can happen,_"

The sad thing was, Lucy had a pretty nice voice. And if she wasn't using it to constantly torture me through show tunes, or whatever theme she has picked out, I might applaud her musical skills.

But no. It _had _to be like this.

"_When you take a chance,_"

She looked at me expectantly, like she was mind-reading me to sing the next line. No. Nope. No way. If I really wanted to public embarrass myself, I'd let everyone know _exactly _how hot I thought Gray was. And that explanation would include like a three hundred page thesis n just how amazingly beautiful he was 24/7 and how much I wanted to kill him because of it.

Lucy rolled her eyes, finally realizing that I was not going to sing the next line.

"_I never believed in,"_

Levy walked in. Thank God, I knew Levy didn't participate in sing-along day because she was far too shy to sing in public. Lucy however, was known quite well for de-pantsing herself in fourth grade and declaring that there was blood on her underwear.

Classy.

"_What I couldn't see_," Lucy began serenading Levy and I sighed in relief.

I saw Gray scope me out. Damn, I was hoping he'd forgotten I existed. Rats. Guess I'll have to try again tomorrow…

"You got the data?" He confirmed, referring to the fact that he'd elected me data keeper after I had punched Cobra in the stomach.

"Yup." I answered, pulling the papers out of my purple folder and handing them to him.

"Great," he said, allowing me to realize how close his face was to mine.

_Don't __**do **__that stupid Gray you'll give me a triple bypass from your ugly beauty…god…_

"So listen, about that favor…"

Fuck. Fuckity fuck fucker.

"I think I got something in mind." He said, lightly tracing the upper part of his brow. Ooh. That was new. Gotta write that down in the _100 reasons why I'd rather kill Gray than have to look at his radiant godliness, a novel by Juvia. _

"And what's that?" I asked, surprisingly, not as scared as I really was.

"I want you to come meet my parents."

He wants me to meet his whats?

He took note of my confused expression and made the decision to elaborate.

"I really like this business college, like you said? That I should do what I want to do? And maybe if they meet someone successful who's going to a smaller college, they'll consider it a possibility for me." He explained.

I'll be honest, I didn't really hear the second part of his explanation.

Gray thought was…successful? Successful at making a complete and utter fool out of myself in front of everyone I want to impress, is more like it! I'll completely _ruin _his chances of getting into a small college! His parents will see what a complete moron popsicle that I was and would ship him off to Uni faster than I could say 'fuck you Lyon'!

"…What day is it?" I asked, hoping I could get out of it with the excuse of a swim practice or meet."

"Sunday. I know you have a swim meet on Saturday."

Damn! Foiled by his almost stalker-like qualities!

"Fine."

"Awesome. I'll tie Lyon up in the basement." He teased, but some part of me really hoped that he would.

Class dragged by averagely, we were scheduled to present our findings tomorrow, so I didn't have to worry about looking like a total loser in front of the whole class.

For today, anyway.

When I got to Calc. Erza and Jellal were waiting for me in front. Lucy, Levy, and Lisanna had all decided to accompany me, so we were all sort of together.

"-So it's Rosewood in two weeks. Do you guys want to come?" Erza asked hopefully. She was probably wondering id we could go to one of her away gymnastics tournaments.

"I'll go." I chimed in quickly. Erza's tournaments were my favorite. Even if there were only twelve people there (which, sometimes was the case. There were only like seven people on our gymnastics team) It was still _so _cool to watch Erza do flips and stuff.

"Hmm…I don't think I can." Lucy said. Lisanna and Levy also had excuses, so only me and Jellal were going to see her.

I knew for a fact that Jellal went to every single one of her tournaments. I went to most, but I suppose no one was more committed to her than him.

Unfortunately, Jellal was always afraid that Erza would get hurt, so he always covered his eyes whenever she'd vault, or do a really cool flip.

Again, not the slightest inclination of a clue as to how he got Erza to be his girlfriend.

Calc. was actually easy that day. We got no homework, which was a miracle in itself, but we still had to study for the test.

Right, because who studies for _math_?

I was only semi excited for health. After the cat dissection fiasco, I was still a little leery to even step foot in the lecture hall.

But I needed to keep Wendy company. There were only like four girls in that class, including me, and the other two girls are ditzy sophomores who dote over the back of Gray's head for hours.

Not that I wouldn't be doing the exact same thing if I sat behind him (luckily I sat in front of him) I just try not to _voice _my affections for Gray's whole…thing.

I sat down next to Wendy. She seemed oddly quiet. I mean, she was always quiet, but something was different about her aura. Aura, god dammit! Stupid Lisanna jutsu is wearing off on me…

"What's wrong Wendy?" I asked. She sighed.

"Well…this is gonna sound kinda silly, but I'm taking a lot more optional courses next year that no other freshmen can take, and I-"

My mind blanked. Wendy was a freshmen?

"You're a freshmen?" I asked, totally surprised by how I had overlooked that detail.

"Uh…y-yeah." She admitted, a little bit frightened, like I would ditch her simply because of the fact she was part of the class I hated the most.

"Oh. Wow." I exclaimed. She must have been really advanced to have been placed in this course so early on…usually only upperclassmen could take it.

"Yeah. So I'll be alone next year. You were the only person who sat by me, and you're a senior. So…" She sighed and propped her cheek on the palm of her hand.

I felt the urge to squeal.

"Aw, Wendy don't worry. You're freaky good at this shit. People will be dying to be friends with you. Maybe not for genuine reasons, but people will still sit by you!" I reassured. Ok, so maybe I wasn't _that _good at comforting people.

"Oh…maybe you're right…" She admitted, a shy giggle breaking the awkward tension.

Awww, she was so cute. I love kids.

I think thee weirdest thing about that class was that Grya didn't say a word to me.

It was definitely weird. I shouldn't have been bothered by it. But I was. Gray had absolutely no obligation to talk to me.

Still bothered me though…

I'm just gonna skip my analysis of Spanish. But I'll give you a hint…

Hell.

Blah blah blah, the rest of my school day, Lucy singing, Levy saying something about homework, Gajeel being a smart idiot.

You get the picture.

The worst part of my day, happened after school though.

I started on my way to my bus, praying to god that there was an empty seat left so I wouldn't be packed in like my mom trying to pack a suitcase.

But, I got pulled over by a lime green car.

And of course, the driver was somebody I really wish I ddon't have to look at.

_Evergreen._

She kicked open the passenger seat.

"Get in."

I sighed. I knew this was going to come sooner or later.

So, I got in the damn car.

I shut the door and folded my arms over my chest. I just wanted to get whatever long monologue Evergreen was about to serve me to be over with.

"Juvia," she began sweetly. "Do you remember freshmen year?"

Oh god, _backstories? _Kill me now.

"Yes, I get it Evergreen. I broke our stupid pact. It wasn't my fault, the coach put me on. You saw me at tryouts!" I argued.

"Well try _harder._ If you ruin my final year on the team, I'll make sure you regret it." She seethed.

I bit my tongue to keep from exploding at her.

"_Fine. _But I can't control whether or not I'm on the team." I told. I was so sick of her, so sick of that stupid pact.

"But you _can _control how well you swim. Don't step out of line." She bit.

If I smash her face against the steering wheel, it'll kill us both. A sacrifice I'm willing to make.

She pulled up in front of my house. I didn't bother to ask how she knew my address.

I eagerly opened the car door so I could escape her gross presence. And overwhelming fragrance. Nobody smells that much like strawberries! It's weird…

"By the way, say hi to Lucy for me!" She sang tauntingly.

That's it. That bitch crossed the damn line. I'm gonna make her a noose out of her own ass hairs and hang her in front of the whole school!

Luckily she sped away before I did anything drastic. _God _she's such a bitch.

I guess I had to say goodbye to any idea of us going to State, because I was going to officially fuck up the meet.

I couldn't risk breaking the pact.

* * *

**haha. lets just pretend this chapter never happened. this was a late night thing guys.**

**Im just surprised I finished this so soon.**

**hey but in other news the last chapter got 18 reviews wtf how**

**so im gonna answer them bc I like u guys**

**and don't yall worry the next chapter has a _lot _more gray/juvia** interaction

Anani00: thank u! I tried to e funny this chapter but it didn't really work out sorry about that

Guest: thank uuuuuu spirit animal I tried to update kind of fast bc u were so nice (it didn't really work out, but ill try harder next chapter bc u are so nice)

fireXmaiden: thank u and here it iiisss sorry for the crap factor

AsDarknessSpreads: I just really liked the idea of tampons shoved up grays nose. idk. and I know the feeling of surpressed laughter past 2 am, its a legitimate problem.

Guest: I know! I refuse to buy food anywhere I just shove Arizona teas up my jacket sleeves. you're actually one of the many people who have recommended that story to me! I have been meaning to read it I just haven't gotten to it yet!

Guest: wHEN I GOT THIS REVIEW I WAS LIKE CRYING lol wut im a terrible writer but this means so much to me thank u

Guest: thank you! I get all my comebacks from hanging out on the playground. its a rough world out there. sorry I feel like this chater was a lot worse but I promise the next chapters gonna be hellla better juvia meets gray's family

Zstar1: omf thank you! I thought I had a really terrible sense of humor but ive gotten a lot of feedback telling me that im wrong

Thunder Explosion: I almost died twelve times writing this. do you know how many vanilla lattes it takes for me to even look at the word document without screaming!? but thank u and one of my queens is your avatar

FlyingDoll4: this actually intrigues me! I might eventually write gray POV, probably towards the end bc last night I think I figured out how I want to end this.

MayIC: sorry I kind of skimped out on the project bc tbh I haven't the slightest clue how to measure solar densities like idk

Gruvia Rocks: ThANNK U! that's so niiice omg but im so sorry about the terrible quality of this chapter ill make it better necxt chap I promise!

No thnx: Thankk you! I wanted to give lucy kind of a memorable trait...I also added a little bit more of her in this chapter bc after that last chapter she really needs a hug

beverlyg: sorry this took kind of long! hope u didn't totally hate this awful shit chapter!

muffin-dragon227(other Katie): I coud never hate uuu u r fabulous and im really sorry that this chapter is literal garbage like idk what was going on but oh well YOU ARE FABULOUS AND THANK U

Guest: thank you! unique is a very nice way for u to put 'ridiculously ooc'

Wolf to the Stars: bruh

Guest: I just really want to say thank you to you bc I was really upset with this story ad your review was like perfectly timed and I literally would not have gotten this chapter done this fast without your review so thank u :)


	7. Socks on the Wall

**I just want to get this out there, I actually ****_love _****Evergreen. But somebody had to be the bitch, and I guess I just chose her.**

**also the 2nd half of this story is literally gray/juvia bonding I almost died writing it im such a nerd**

* * *

I had no idea the day would come so fast.

My first swim meet.

Aka, the day I publicly humiliate myself through showing the world what a horrible swimmer I was.

I'd had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach all week long because of the meet, not to mention Gray pretty much avoiding me, Sting sending me weird suggestive photos even though I'm 99% sure he's gay, and Levy has been oddly quiet and I don't know why.

Let's just all agree it's been a shitty week for me.

I sat down on the wooden bench in the locker room, staring at the pale green of my swim locker.

I could hear all the other swimmers giggling about which of their boyfriends was in the stands, bladi blah, and, over the crowd, I could clearly pick out Evergreen's cackly voice talking about how she was going to crush Hargeon High.

_God _I want to fucking murder her.

But instead of taking action and tying Evergreen's hair to her locker, I stared at the stupid metal butterfly chain dangling from my swim bag.

This was going to be…beyond humiliating. But I had to do it. Not to mention coach was going to light me on fire and set me as a public example not to defy him.

Yup. An all-in-all shit week topped with ass flavored ice cream and fuck flavored fudge.

I stood up and walked out into the shower area, trying to stall as long as possible until I actually had to compete. Maybe I could fake a heart attack or something and get out of swimming.

I drowsily turned on the shower and ran my fingers through my already wet hair, having already taken three showers in a feeble attempt to draw my mind away from my impending embarrassment. Only a few swimmers remained in the locker room, but most of them were on the diving team so I didn't really know them. Thank god. Awkward small talk with team members that I was fully well aware hated me was like dive bombing into a field of set bear traps. Painful _and _shameful.

Well. Might as well just get it over with, tarnish my clean slated reputation as a varsity swimmer, and maybe shove a buoy up Evergreen's ass.

I pushed open the heavy locker room door, a swoosh of warm sticky pool air hitting my bare shoulders.

Oh yeah, our swimsuits were straight up _hideous. _The faded blue was stretchy and old, and unbelievably _tight _around my bust. I looked like Nicki fucking Manaj trying to glue my tits to my shirt so they wouldn't pop out like bread out of a toaster.

For once, I actually pitied Evergreen, for she had it even worse than me. A tit sandwich was really the only way to go around describing it.

This competition, I was only scheduled for one race. One race that I would ultimately fuck up and leave myself tarnished, but that's a problem for about ten minutes from now.

I walked up to my coach, bare feet making slappy noises against the wet floor. A particularly annoying sound.

"Coach!" I called out, hoping to sound strangled and in pain.

He briefly regarded me by tilting his posture to the side. This was all I needed.

I clutched my chest and stumbled into him, making as many gagging and coughing sounds as I could on my way there.

"What in god's name are you doing?" He asked, accent sharp with annoyance.

I made more sputtering and pained noises.

He stared at me monotonously, like he was waiting for me to finish up whatever the hell I was trying to pull.

Defeated, I straightened out and glared.

"What the bloody hell was that supposed to be?" He asked flatly, not even a little bit amused by my amazing performance.

"I was having a _heart attack _you inconsiderate piece of trash." I sniffed.

He stared at me for a second. "…Get your ass in the water."

I turned away, making sure to mumble every curse word I knew before slipping into the water for warm ups.

My warm ups are normal, slow, painful, and exciting all at the same time. I always hated the feel of the water up against my skin, wet and slippery, grabbing at you and attempting to pull you down under. Of course, the pool wasn't nearly like this, the lukewarm water wasn't frozen with terror and the depths didn't stretch to god knows how deep and I wasn't seven miles beyond terrified, only mildly pacified by the bleakness of the pool.

I spotted Evergreen swimming out of the corner of my eye. She practices like a crocodile, slow, smooth, and like she's about to chomp my face off and laugh.

The whistle signaling the first race came far too soon.

It's not my race, of course, I was scheduled for a single backstroke race, and this was the front crawl.

But my race was undeniably next. And so far, faking a heart attack just wasn't going to cut it.

Evergreen waved at me before she started her race, because _right_, she was technically the best swimmer on our team.

How pathetically sad.

I turned away from the race so I wouldn't have to watch Evergreen win. Hargeon High was not known for their swimming.

My eyes fleeted to the stands, and I wasn't even disappointed when I noted no one was there to watch me. That was good though, the fewer people to witness my failure the better.

It was still a little bit sad though. I guess that's what I get for refusing to tell anyone anything about me.

I picked out a few people I did know though, mentally scrawling their names on my _to kill_ list because I didn't need anybody spewing their stories to anyone else.

Elfman was there, Bixlow (I'm pretty sure? Bixman? Maybe?) Natsu…_(gross) _and maybe Cobra, but it was hard to see from down here.

Also, what the hell? _Cobra_? Didn't he have some knives to sharpen, or something?

I turned back to the pool, seeing that the race had finished, with, surprise, surprise, Evergreen as the winner.

She blew a kiss at me, a triumphant reminder that she had won, and she would always win, from this day forth.

Cunt.

The announcer announced my race to be next, and a mysterious brew of evil forces stormed in my stomach as I approached the board.

_Don't screw this up. Don't screw this up. Don't screw this up._

I shakily jumped onto the board, and my eyes skirted the other swimmers.

Nobody too impressive, jut Evergreen and Clarissa-something from Hargeon High were the only real contenders.

Not that it was going to matter to me.

God, it wasn't fair. Evergreen was such a major league fuckass. I should be able to do my best at this damn race, instead of flail around like a dead snail.

My mind raced and heart pounded. The race would begin in a matter of seconds and I could hardly sort my mind together, like a mess of scrambled eggs and roadkill that had once been my frontal lobe.

But I heard the whistle, and the telltale splash of my fingers hitting the water and I was swimming.

It was weird. Super surreal. I never remembered swimming being like this, but it was definitely happening, water tearing at the corners of my palms and legs blindly kicking back and forth.

Then I heard a whistle.

_What the fuck? The whistle shouldn't have gone off that early! Is somebody drowning?_

I glanced up from the water numbly, noticing that my hands were firmly fastened to the edge of the pool.

Wait a second, when did I get back to this side of the pool?

…

…

…Holy shit.

My hand released the edge of the pool and I stared at them like they were covered in blood, noticing that the other swimmers were just now finishing up.

_Holy shit._

The blaring screams and applause felt like a never ending drop kick to the stomach. Coach was screaming at me in surprise and happiness, and I just _stared _at my goddamn hands for what felt like a lifetime.

Finally I snapped up, looking at Evergreen for something, _anything_, a sign that I was going to be alright-

But her burning glare confirmed my fear.

I had broken the pact.

I had broken the pact.

No, no, no, no, _no._

She shook her head slowly, each movement like a sawblade cutting against my thighs.

I had broken the pact.

I jumped out of the water, hurrying towards Evergreen with a thousand different things to say on the tip of my tongue…

_Tell her it was an accident, tell her you have a deadly disease, tell her you're dying of cancer and winning a swim race was your final dying wish, tell her something, __**anything-**_

"You broke the pact." She said icily, sending a chill up my bones.

"No, I-"

"I hope you had fun." She said, bitter sweetness brimming in her words.

"Evergreen, no, I didn't mean to-"

She turned around sharply, with a sort of anger I've seen only a few times in my life.

"But you _did_, didn't you? You broke the pact and I _told _you you'd be sorry."

"_Please _Evergreen…" My arm shot out and grabbed her wrist, pleading for the first time since I started high school. "Please, _don't_-"

She laughed coldly.

"Then I guess you should've thought about that before you. Broke. The. Pact!" She whirled around, successfully spraying me with water and storming over to her friends who were whispering in outrage. It was positively scandalous in the swim world that I had just beat Evergreen.

"Lockser, Jesus! That was amazing! I didn't think you had it in you, but you did! And-"

I tuned out my coach's rant, all I could really think of was violently throwing up and then throwing myself down the Grand Canyon. I had fucked up. I had fucked up so bad and the worst part was _I _wasn't even going to be the one who was going to suffer…

_Lucy _was.

"I gotta go." I mumbled softly, pulling away towards the locker room.

Coach looked confused, but he let me leave probably because I looked like the walking dead.

The second I entered the locker room, I screamed.

Like, _really _screamed. The kind of scream you get when someone gets hit by a car in front of you and you get to see them explode like a meat balloon.

I could only hope that the room was soundproof.

My hands pressed to my temples dangerously hard, posing the risk of my poking holes in my skull.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, **_fuck_**.

My breathing became uneven and rapid, as each last ditch plan I had got ticked off one by one.

I guess murdering Evergreen was my only choice now.

Drowning her in the toilet would be classy…

_Oh my god Juvia, you absolute fuck be serious for like eight seconds…_

Ok…ok…I just gotta think…

The locker room door swished open and I flung around, diving behind a locker gracefully and hitting my knee against the bench with a giant _smack._

So agile. My leg feels like I just steam rolled it and then overcooked it in the oven on broil.

"_Fuck_," I whispered, my eyes seconds from popping out of my skull and bouncing around like yo-yos.

Yeah. Real nice imagery.

"Hello?" A voice I did not recognize inquired.

_Just keep your trap shut and she won't notice you're in constant pain…_

Unfortunately the girl came upon me, sort of diagonally squashed up against the bench, nails fastened to my knee like I was about ready to claw it off.

"Hi there." I said gushily, trying to sound infomercial-ish and fake.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" She lent me her hand and I made a huge scene trying to take it without screaming in pain/anger at my deceitful thigh.

Piece of shit leg. I didn't need it anyways, didn't do me any good.

"I'm feeling fantastic, why do you ask?" I said, hysterically sarcastic.

The girl looked a little bit guilty. "Well…you sort of screamed really loud and we all just kind of assumed you got stabbed or something."

Ah. _Not _soundproof.

"I…turned on the shower…it was really cold." I said flatly, although I had been victim to Arctic shower temperatures before, for a straight week. This was a short follow up of my dad's famous 2009 fight with my mom, cheerfully asking "what are you going to do, turn off our hot water?" and then followed by a week of freezing cold everything.

Moral of the story; don't fuck with chicks, man.

The girl gave me a nervous look, like _are you sure you're going to go with __**that **__story? _But I decided to stick with it and began unloading my swim bag.

"Um…I'm Kinana. I've never seen you on the swim team before, and you're obviously really good…" She rambled a bit.

"Thanks." I said unthankfully.

"I'm on the diving team. Are you new to school this year?"

"Nope. Gone here my whole life." I answered without turning back.

"Really? But…I've never seen you on the team before…" She mentioned quizzically.

"I was on JV last year." I explained half-assedly. I felt kind of bad, because Kinana was obviously a really nice girl and I was being beyond rude ass bitch to her, but I really had a lot on my mind at the moment.

"No way! That was totally amazing…I can't believe this was your first year on Varsity!" Kinana argued, just as the locker room door opened to reveal Evergreen and her gaggle of bitches.

Welp. It was about that time in my life when my one and only wish was to spontaneously transform into Jimmy Neutron, slap a rocket to my ass and fly the fuck away. And maybe even shout 'gotta blast' in Evergreen's face.

Iconic.

Evergreen swished past me, to my surprise, not stopping to say something vague and meaningless about my doom.

"Evergreen," I said, my hand grabbing hers.

She turned around, her face as sour as my mom's secret stash of sour patch kids she thinks I don't know about.

"Uh…can we…talk?" Ugh, _gross. _Just saying those words is making me itchy.

"About what?" She asked sweetly, totally ignoring the audience hat was forming around us.

"…Things." I said inconspicuously.

She rolled her eyes and walked away.

Well what the hell am I supposed to do now?

"Wait, Evergreen!"

She didn't turn around, but she did stop.

I swallowed.

"Please."

I could hear her satisfied snort of laughter and her snake like grin.

"Fine."

Oh _god _that was torture. If I ever say please again I might burst into flames on the spot.

I followed Evergreen over to the changing stalls, surprised when no curious swimmers followed us to see what was going on.

"Don't do this." I started, jumping right to the point and avoiding her villainous small talk.

"Don't do what?"

I'm gonna drown her.

"Don't release the picture."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Why not?"

I sighed frustratedly. She was just doing this to piss me off. Spoiler alert; it was working.

"Because Lucy doesn't have anything to do with this." I said, trying to keep my voice at a defcon 5.

"Well then Lucy shouldn't have been stupid enough to-"

Op. Oh no. Here it comes. I'm gonna pop her head off like a dandelion.

"_Don't _talk about her like that. It was a stupid mistake, now just _don't release the picture._" I said, my voice wavering dangerously.

"Or what?" She asked.

I stopped. Or what? What could I possibly do to threaten her? Sure, I made plenty of threats on a daily basis but to be honest I was simply too lazy to carry any of them out.

Or…

"Or I'll beat you at every competition we'll ever go to. I'll crush you. You'll be the laughing stock of the team, and I'll carry us to state."

There is a 100% chance that if Lucy or Lisanna were behind me, they would shout out something annoying like _'slaaaayyyy' _or whatever.

Evergreen looked taken aback. Even threatened.

"I'm impressed Juvia," she finally said, "I didn't think you had it in you."

I said nothing.

"Fine. I won't release the picture. _For now. _But just know if you cross the line _one more time_, Lucy will be known as the school slut for the rest of the year." She snarled.

"You're such a bitch," I felt myself say softly.

"I know," she said, before turning around and returning to her teammates.

Wow. That was intense. I think I need a five minute break.

Relief flooded through my veins like a dam had burst. Lucy would be fine.

I numbly walked back to my locker, putting on clothes that I wouldn't dare wear in public. Y'know, mismatched sweatshirt and sweatpants that made you look like a mom who woke up seven times in the night to keep her kid from puking all over the floor? Yup. That kind of outfit.

I was surprised by how closely Kinana stuck to me. She normally hung out with Evergreen's swimmer friends, or the ditzy diver girls who wore size zero swimsuits which were clearly only tools to make their boobs look bigger.

"Are you ok? You looked a little shaken up back there…" She worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assured. And I was. I had guaranteed myself and Lucy an extra week of safety.

"That's good!" She said with a sugary smile. She and Levy could probably make a club, something like 'we're made of candy anonymous' or 'unrealistically nice club'.

I walked out of the school with Kinana, talking about the diving team she had just faced. She actually reminded me of a combination of Lucy and Levy, which was weird because Lucy and levy were basically one person anyways.

"Do you have a ride?" She asked when we got to the chilly parking lot. I was lucky that I could French braid so fast, or I would've had fucking icicle hair.

I was tempted to say no, but I figured that if my dad didn't come I could stay inside the building, the only plus about home games.

"Yeah, I got one." I replied.

"Ok, then I'll see you later!" She called, getting into her car and driving away.

I should probably start driving myself to meets. Waiting for my dad is pretty much futile. The only real problem is that my dad would sooner stick his head in an oven than let me drive our car without parental assistance. Yup. My dad's one of those fucking lame ass dads who value their car and lawn over their only daughter.

My dad was set to come pick me up at 5, and it was 5:15 right now, so he should be here in ten to twenty minutes. My best hope was taking refuge back inside the school.

One thing I hate about being at school when school is not in session: janitors are still there.

I mean, what the fuck? They didn't finish their job on Friday and now they're just prowling around like 500 year old deadpools?

And they sooo think they're being subtle when they look at my boobs (which are actually fairly well hidden under my sweatshirt, but these guys obviously don't get much action past one way eye sex) and they're totally not, like I can see you asshole eyes up front.

They also take every opportunity to try and talk to me, and/or randomly come to 'clean' the area where I'm standing.

And our conversations usually don't go far past 'nice weather today' or 'hi'.

Aaaand here comes another one now. How many fucking janitors does one high school need?

As the janitor drew closer and I mentally prepared myself for the ultimate bitch face, I noticed a few things about the janitor.

First, he was rather slim for a janitor. As in, there was no potbelly suspiciously peeking out from under his T-shirt.

In fact…nothing really close to a potbelly.

And janitors usually carry around some sort of mop-dealy wheely thing, or at least a broom. This guy just had his hands firmly plunged in his pockets and his eyes on the ground.

Also, I just now realized that that is totally not a fucking janitor that is Gray Fullbuster god _dammit._

My senses switched to high alert, like my brain had its own 'oh shit it's Gray!' panic button.

It probably did. My brain is a weird place to be sometimes.

Ok, ok…there's still hope…he probably hasn't noticed me yet, just stare out the window and he won't recognize you…

I quickly flipped my hood up to avoid eye contact, and also possible meltage via his smoldering eyes. It's pretty damn hard to not melt, trust me on this one.

Hm. I probably look really shady right now. A hooded figure, staring into the distance in the middle of a high school hallway…

"Are you trying to hide from me?"

Yes. Dammit. I mean no.

I turned around, doing my best to look surprised at his presence.

"Gray! What? When did you get here? I mean…who would have thought…dammit, fine." I gave up halfway, flipping my hood down and giving him a pointed stare.

…And then immediately melting. Damn! Does he have no consideration for the amount of property damage he's costed me? Millions in melted body parts!

"I saw your race," he said casually, nodding his head like I'd done a damn good job.

…Which I had. Fuck. Forgot about that.

"Was it impressive?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah. Especially the scream at the end, that had to be my favorite part." He added, just as sarcastically.

Fuck. Forgot about that too.

"I saw a spider." I covered lamely.

"In the girl's locker room?"

"Yes."

"In the middle of winter?"

"…Yes."

"What kind of spider?"

"Stop blowing holes in my story!"

He laughed a little, successfully beating me. He's the only one that can do that, you know. But he cheats, with his heart melting good looks and his adorable sexy charm and his low seductive voice…

"So…are we…still on for tomorrow?"

I stopped, remembering that I had completely forgotten about that.

"…Yeah." I said reluctantly.

"Good. If I have to hear my dad say one more word about the university, I'm gonna throw myself down the stairs." He said with a wry grin.

I…

Holy shit…

He just _took my fucking line._

I mean, I don't generally say it out loud…but I mean…it's _my line_, what the hell does he think he's doing just using it left and right?

"See you tomorrow, Juvia."

_Well. _That's that. I've officially signed my death warrant, the only thing left to do is send an email to Satan and tell him I'm returning home.

What the hell am I supposed to say to his parents anyways? 'Hello I'm Juvia your son's designated stalker?'

Jesus, only twelve seconds of talking to him and I'm already screwed.

* * *

"So, tell me again where you're going?"

I sighed, being the third time I've explained my cover story to my dad.

"We're having a study party at Lucy's house, everyone we know from chem.. class is coming." I informed, yet again.

At that time, my mother strolled past the front entryway as I was putting on my boots.

"Oh, _honey_, your father and I know exactly what _study party _is codeword for." She said with a wink.

Right. Because I also had to tell them that Gray was picking me up.

I probably should've just gone with the truth, and told them I was going to Gray's house. But then my mom would've stuck some condoms in my jacket pocket and that would've been an interesting story to explain to Gray.

"Don't screw this up Juvia, your mom and I really like Fullbuster," my dad warned, in a slightly teasing tone.

"Oh don't worry dad, I'm pretty sure he knows you guys like him." I reassured with a psychotic glint in my eye. That presentation of affection was one I could've gone without.

Gray's car pulled into the driveway and I made the father-son-holy spirit thing over my chest. That was supposed to mean good luck, right? I need to go to church more often.

"Alright, bye mom, bye dad!" I said quickly, attempting to open the door before my parents could embarrassingly have me off.

"Wait, wait, wait…do you have everything you need?" My mom asked, her eyebrows raised inhumanly high.

"_Yes, _oh my god mom." I answered darkly.

I made the mistake of letting y guard down for one second as Gray knocked on the door and my dad flung it open with a Shining-worthy smile.

"Good morning!" My mom bid.

"Uh…morning Mrs. Lockser…" Gray said nonchalantly.

"Now Juvia, you remember what we talked about, right?" My mom asked.

"What the hell did we talk about?" Oops. Said that out loud.

My mom winked and I made an uncomfortable squeaking noise.

"Let's just go," I said, grabbing gray's arm hurriedly.

"Bye Juvia! Your father and I were just about to have a study party of our own," my mom said with wiggling eyebrows.

"Oh my god mom, I'm choking to death!" I called back. She's disgusting.

"You're not going to be the only one who's choking~"

I made a whining noise as I climbed into Gray's car.

Asshole. He was laughing at me.

"Hey! Clam it buddy, this is free charity work." I clarified.

"Charity work? You owe me this!" He accused.

"If anything, my _dad _owes you this." I shot back.

"It'd be a little weird if I took a grown man to dinner with my parents, now wouldn't it?" He defended.

"Not for my dad! He'd probably love it!" I informed.

He took a second to breathe.

"So…you guys are hockey fans?"

_Ugh, are we really on this again?_

"My _dad's _a hockey fan." I corrected.

"Sure. And I couldn't help but notice that he recognized me _by face_…"

Ah. Here we go. The dreaded 'does your entire family stalk me, or is it just me'?

"He's very dedicated." I explained pointedly.

"…Right, so you definitely knew who I was before I even met you…"

_Snoooore. _Get to the point Gray.

"Why'd you lie?"

I rolled my eyes. "I told you before, I thought that maybe you were a different Gray!"

"Because, you know, there are so many Grays in the world-" he interrupted sarcastically.

"Look, what do you want from me. Maybe I'd heard of you before, it's a small world." I argued.

He paused. "I dunno, really. I just think you're…weird."

Cue sighing noise.

"Gray do you even _know _what a girl is? Because you clearly don't know how to talk to them," I started, even though it doesn't matter. For all I care, the only words he's ever said to me is 'Juvia you're trash' and I'd still love him.

"Hey, hey, hear me out. You know, the first time I met you, you told me to beat it." He began.

Oh yeah. That was a while ago. To be honest, I still kid of want him to beat it. He's kind of, you know, ripped a fucking hole in my average day-to-day life and royally fucked shit up like hurricane Gray.

"And, y'know, you were the first girl besides Ultear and my mom to say something like that.

Well, glad to know I'm on the same level as your mother, Gray.

"You're the first girl I've met that doesn't care about…whatever, just wants to be friends."

WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA.

WHAT THE FUCK.

BACK THE FUCKING TRUCK UP.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

I DO NOT WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM.

My fierce anger must've shown in my eyes, because he looked momentarily frightened when we came to a stop at his house.

"Just letting you know Gray, I really had no intention of becoming friends with you." I said coldly, getting out of the car like the ice-cold bitch that I was.

But, I was telling the truth. It was fuck-buddy or nothing.

I heard him mumble 'ouch' as he got out of the car and followed me up to his front door.

"So, what's this college of yours I'm sponsoring? I asked, still harboring the kind of iciness in my voice.

"Uh…Bloomington Tech." He said, still recovering from my below the belt comment. Shit. Now I feel bad.

"Oh, my cousin went there!" I said, suddenly bright because my cousin was out-the-balls rich and always gave me really kickass Christmas presents.

"What's he doing now/' Gray asked excitedly.

"Hm…I can't remember exactly…I think he…administrates…some company? I dunno, but he makes ass-tons of money." I encouraged.

"I can always count on ass-tons," he poked happily.

We walked inside his house, and I was hit with the smell of pizza.

"Dammit, not again…" Gray whispered like this was some reoccurring curse.

Gray's house was really…suburban. Family pictures allover the walls, hockey pictures, comfy carpet…very un-Gray-like.

But it was still nice.

I instantly became subconscious of my shirt, which was a little ruffly and almost showed too much of my boobs. Not like it was my fault though.

Gray probably sensed my alarmism and said something that will make me die a thousand deaths for the rest f eternity.

"Don't worry, you look nice."

Nice…I looked…_nice…_

_Now _comes the real challenge.

_Don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush…_

"MOOOOOOMM! Lyon broke my CD!"

Ah. That must be the sister. She ran past us with shattered shiny pieces of Taylor Swift's face before stopping abruptly, and turning around eerily to look at me.

"Gray…who's…that?" She asked, like I was a demon Gray accidentally unleashed from hell.

"That'd Juvia Ul, don't be a little weirdo." He said gruffly, a little bit embarrassed by her awe.

She took a tentative step forward.

"Are you a real girl?" She whispered.

"Let me check," I said, glancing down at my boobs and then immediately looking back up.

"Yup."

Gray looked mortified. "Dammit Ultear, what did I _just _say?"

"I'm not being weird! I was just wondering is all," she defended, before leaning towards me again, "Gray doesn't bring girls home," she whispered before running upstairs.

"She's…special." Gray quickly covered up.

"I see," I said in between bouts of laughter. Gray never got embarrassed. But when he did, it was cute.

So cute, in fact, that I might just have to take a ten minute breather to re-gather my thoughts.

I followed Gray up the stairs and past the dining room, which already had plates set up, and then into the kitchen.

"Mom, _please _don't tell me that Ul-"

Gray's mom flipped around, surprised, accidentally tossing an apple ten feet into the air.

"Gray! You're back! Already? But…we're not…oh my gosh! She's here!"

_Fuck is she talking about me?_

Gray's mom pushed him out of the kitchen hurriedly.

"Go, go, go! I'm not ready, I'm not ready…I'll call you two in when I am!" Gray's mom shouted, flushed as she flattened her short messy hair out.

"Jesus mom, calm down, I just wanted to know if you seriously let Ultear try again."

Gray's mom made a guilty face.

"I'm so sorry Gray, she said she had it all under control…I know how much this whole meeting meant to you…"

"_Mom!_" Gray shouted sharply.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry…" she peeked over Gray's shoulder and I sent her a little wave.

"_Oh my goodness Gray, she's so cute,_" she whispered into Gray's ear, pretty loudly.

"Mom, I swear to _god-_"

"Off you go! I'll see you two in a few, and it was nice meeting you dear," she said with a quick wave as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Let's stop for a second.

Can you hear that folks? Me neither. I have officially stopped breathing, and therefore cease to exist. I have died happily on this day, knowing that Gray's family was just as, if not more, embarrassing than my family. I dedicate everything I have to Gajeel. Haha! Dick, try fitting all my girly shit in your garage…I'd like to see you try.

Love, Juvia.

Gray was still bright pink from the kitchen fiasco as he dragged me into his room.

He slammed the door shut and started banging his head on the door like dobby the fucking elf from Harry potter and oh please god let me get this on camera…

"Looks like we have _something _in common." I said cheerily, sitting down on his bed because frankly it would take a freight train to the face to ruin this day for me.

"I…they're…not usually like this, I swear…" Gray croaked miserably.

"That's what they all say," I said woefully, but secretly I was beyond happy, like I was having the fucking fourth of July bonanza inside my brain, each and every brain cell had one of those new year popper thingies and was going off like a gajillion happy firecrackers in my head.

If this is what heaven feels like, I should probably retract that email I sent to Satan.

"Uh…Ultear has a cooking class this year, and she's been trying to cook at home, but…" he trailed off, "it hasn't really been working out."

"That's ok." I replied. Pizza was literally my first commandment.

"We've had pizza for pretty much the last month, not that I'm complaining, but," he came over to sit down next to me on his bed, "it's a little informal."

I laughed. "Informal? Gray, have you _met _me?"

He smiled a little bit, reassured by my casualness. "Yeah, I guess so."

I flipped around so that my feet were propped against his wall and my head was resting on his pillow. There was a hockey poster above the bed, and then a Magnolia University one next to it.

"How much do you like hockey?" I accidentally asked aloud.

"Hm. A lot, I guess." He answered simply, flopping down beside me, his feet propped up next to mine.

Is it hot in here? Or is it just the face that I've set myself _on fire _ohmygod he's literally laying down next to me somebody call the police-

"How much do you like swimming?"

I laughed sharply. "Not much."

"Really?" He pondered, surprised. "Then why do you do it?"

I sighed.

"I dunno. It's kind of like…proving to myself that I _can _swim." I answered vaguely.

"That's…that's really weird." He finally spoke, tapping his toes rhythmically on the wall, a little bit muffled by his socks.

"I guess so. But I guess you'd understand to if you like…hated the ice." I made up.

"If I hated the ice?" He resonated confusedly.

"Yup. Say, when you were younger, you fell on your ass a lot on the ice. Then you grow up to become a really good hockey player, to show the ice who's boss." I interpreted.

"…You fell in the water a lot as a kid?"

Whoops. Didn't want to delve into _that _part of my life.

"So, Bloomington tech, huh?" I asked, blatantly changing the subject.

He paused to adjust to the sudden change of topic.

"Yeah. I've been looking at it for a while, and…I think it's what I really want to do. I took a few business courses this year, criminology, and that health course, to branch out my horizons? And I really liked the business ones. Is…that weird?" He asked, like he wanted my approval.

"Course not. I mean, you can only play hockey for so long, but if you get a good education you can put it to use wherever you want." I approved, putting a big 'ol stamp on his forehead. _Approved by Juvia._

He was silent for a minute, tracing circles with his feet on the wall.

"You're really smart, you know." He said softly, "I'm glad you're my friend."

Aaaand stab me _right _in the fucking chest. Go ahead Gray, get that knife _real _deep in there, wouldn't want to leave any internal organs still standing, would we?

He had no fucking idea how he literally just stabbed a knife through y chest. It would be literal _torture _to be Gray's friend, like I was standing a few feet from a vault filled with millions of dollars and I got to live next to the vault, but I still didn't know the pass code.

I'm an idiot. A stupid, stupid idiot, who let myself get dragged into this mess…the second Gray asked me to come to his parents house I should've said _no, _the second I met him I should've _really _made him beat it.

I'm so _stupid_.

"Juvia?"

"Huh?"

"Thought you fell asleep for a second there…"

"Maybe I did."

"Nah, I'm way to interesting."

"Modest too."

"And handsome, you forgot handsome."

"I also forgot _asshole_, but that was mostly just out of politeness."

A sudden shift in noises from Gray's door prompted us to both look behind us.

"Dammit!" Ultear cursed, hiding her phone behind her back and smiling guiltily.

"Uh…dinner's ready, Gray…" She said before bolting.

"Ugh! That little fuckin' brat!" Gray leapt off his bed and chased her into the kitchen.

That's weird, all she did was listen to our…

Suddenly, it hit me.

That little sneaky chica filmed us.

"_Dammit!_" I leapt up as well and followed Gray into the kitchen.

"Mom! Gray's harassing me!"

"Ultear's harassing me! Gimme that phone!"

"No way! I'm putting this on vine!"

"The _fuck _you are, I'll kill you ya little!"

"Both of you shut up, I'm hungry." A new, unfamiliar voice spoke. Probably Gray's dad.

"What the hell is going on up-"

Ah. A voice I never hoped I'd hear again.

"What are _you _doing here?" Lyon asked sharply.

"I'm here to tell you about our lord and savior Jesus Christ, do you have a minute?" I asked sarcastically.

"Seriously, what the fuck is she doing here?" Lyon asked Gray, who appeared, looking rather frazzled, out of the kitchen.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were going to that job interview!" Gray asked angrily.

"I _did_ go to the job interview!" Lyon argued.

"For five minutes?"

"They didn't like my hair!"

Ok, now I'm laughing.

Lyon glared at me. "What the fuck is so funny, little girl?"

I laughed a little bit more, dragging on the moment.

"Well, you just got kicked out of a job interview because of your hair. Do me a favor and tell me why I'm _not _laughing." I explained. His face flushed greatly.

"Why don't you just-"

"Lyon! You're back! We can start dinner now!" Gray's mom clapped her hands together and ushered us to the dinner table, which was covered in pizza boxes.

First of all, that is a shit ton of pizza.

Second of all, I have no objections.

"I swear to god Ul, burn one more dish and I'll put red pain on all your leotards," Gray threatened as we sat down.

She pouted. "You're mean Gray! No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!"

"Yeah Gray, no wonder." I pitched in.

"Shaddup, you're supposed to be on my side." He whispered back.

"Says who? I'm a freelance favor girl, I do what I want, _when I want_." I ranted.

"You better keep your trap shut or I'll eat all the pepperoni." He threatened.

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me."

He dove for the pizza box and began comically piling piece after piece on his plate, and I briefly wondered how his mom was able to keep up with him.

"So, Juvia, Gray tells me that you're a swimmer," Gray's mom started, placing her head on her hands like she wanted me to delve into my life story and how I first began swimming.

"Yeah, it's my first year on varsity." I answered. Gray's dad perked up at the word _varsity _and looked interested.

"You do sports?" He asked, like those were the only words in his vocabulary.

"Pay attention Silver," Gray's mom scolded.

"Yup. She broke a district record yesterday." Gray added.

_I did?_

Huh. Maybe I did. I was too busy screaming to have noticed.

"_Whoa._" Silver marveled, impressed by my small feat.

"I don't suppose you're going to the U too?" Lyon asked pointedly, wanting to make a public service announcement that I definitely _wasn't _going to the U.

"Actually, no. I'm going to Holy Angels next year." I said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Holy Angels? Were they the college that had those drunk kids crash their car into the capitol?" Lyon asked, shocked.

Oh my _god. _That asshole _literally _dug up dirt on my college.

"Well, at least they didn't screw up that final kick at the Rose Bowl." I said sweetly.

I could see the entire family, with the exception of Gray, flinch at the memory. Oops. That's what you get Lyon, don't mess with my godamn college.

Gray was trying to conceal his laughter, horribly, if I may add, and I noticed that he had a tendency to laugh hysterically whenever I made fun of Lyon.

"So Gray, what colleges are you looking at," I asked nonchalantly. Silver looked like he was about to cut in with a possible 'Magnolia University is god's school' speech, but Gray beat him to the punch.

"I really don't know, but I really like Bloomington Tech." He said, to the shock of his entire family.

"The hell is Bloomington Tech?" Lyon asked rudely.

"My cousin went there," I put out, ignoring Lyon's comment. "He got me a blu-ray player for Christmas last year."

His family liked that, I could tell. Hook, line, and inker.

My cousin also bought me every season of Sherlock and the Lord of the Rings extended blu-ray edition to go with it, but I decided to leave _out _my nerdy tendencies this time.

"He's also looking at Magnolia University." His dad piped up.

"Oh, my dad's friend went there." I mentioned, stealing a piece of pepperoni from Gray's plate.

"He died." I added, for extra effect. Not that it was untrue, but his death had nothing to do with college, but with his extreme alcoholism.

Details are for the weak.

"Unrelated, I'm sure." Lyon but in. God, I wanna stab him.

I shrugged, like I was hiding something about the college's relation to his death.

Lyon looked _beyond _pissed.

Gray was laughing so hard he had his hand firmly pressed over his mouth and was making coughing noises to crappily cover it up.

"I bet you guys are proud that Gray's so good at business courses. I would've failed the class if it wasn't for his help." I lied smoothly. I'll consider it a fib though, because I knew that if I ever did take a business course I'd fail dramatically, and I already knew that Gray was a genius.

"Really?" Gray's mother leaned forward like this was news to her.

I looked around, a fake expression of surprise etched in my eyes.

"Well I'm surprised he doesn't talk more about it, he's easily the smartest person in our class." I lied smoothly. Again, more of a fib because I had no doubts that he was the smartest in his class.

"Really Gray? That's amazing," his mother praised. Gray looked at me like I was a perfectly baked cookie and smiled.

"Uh, yeah, I really like it." He added dumbly, probably amazed by my _fibbing _skills.

Even his dad looked mildly impressed.

"It's a good career to get into," he said, mumbly personality disappearing slowly.

Gray was practically squirting happiness. I almost screamed because the happier he was the cuter his cheeks looked and now I really just want to chop them off and keep them in a jar in my room.

Aaaand moment ruined. Thanks Juvia, you idiot.

"Well Gray has been super busy preparing for State." Lyon interrupted, totally off topic and needy.

"Is that so? Business finals are pretty far away, but I'm going to need a head start studying, I heard they're really hard." I said, changing the subject again.

"You're really pretty." Ultear said from across the table.

_That's a little bit weird, I mean, if I was Gray's sister I'd probably think he's pretty too, but I wouldn't say it to his fa-oh my god she was talking to me whatdoIdo_.

"Thank you." I said, hopefully not to strangled and awkward.

"You'd be a lot prettier if your boobs weren't hanging out." Lyon muttered, just loud enough for me, and the entire table, to hear.

Alright. That's it. I'm a lady, I usually believe in calm, tactful torture, but it's time to get some WWE action going on here.

I turned around harshly to look him in the eye, the table still dead silent.

"Well where do you want me to put them Lyon? In my _fricken' pocket_? Unfortunately, it doesn't really work like that!"

Whoops. Sorry Gray, I ruined your chances of college.

To my surprise, Gray's mom turned to Lyon with her own comment.

"Yeah Lyon, where?"

And it turns out, Gray and his dad both share the trait of laughing hysterically when I point out Lyon's asshole-ishness.

Ultear fell on the floor laughing, and Lyon just kind of sat there, a hard look in his eyes.

"She got you there," Silver commented, in between gasps of laughter.

Lyon finally stood up and left, gray still in tears from his embarrassment.

"Sorry…about…that…" I apologized half heartedly.

"No dear, I'm very sorry, that was an extremely rude comment, I just do not know what is up with him today…" Gray's mom offered.

"Mom! Gray ate all the pepperoni!" Ultear suddenly reappeared from underneath the table.

"Wha…you don't even like pepperoni!" Gray howled.

"Shut up, fatty!"

"Ultear, be nice to your brother, he's a growing boy." Gray's mom chided.

"Ur, don't belittle him." Silver reminded.

"Nonsense, he'll be skin and bones if he eats any less than that!" Ur declared.

Any less? I just watched that boy inhale an entire pizza!

"What time do your parents want you home Miss Juvia, I wouldn't want to keep you too late…" Ur asked guiltily, like she had kept me way too long.

"I think they wanted me home at least before nine," I said, unsure of the current time.

"Brilliant! It's only seven thirty, we can keep you for another hour and a half!" She said happily.

"Mom, don't suffocate her!" Gray reminded incessantly.

Ultear suddenly appeared behind me. "Do my hair like yours!"

"Gah! Ultear, back up!"

"Shut up Gray! How do you get it so soft?" Ultear asked, running her hands through my hair.

Gray stood up, faster than I'd ever seen him move, even at the hockey game, and picked Ultear up around the waist.

"Gray! Put me down!"

"Not until you stop touching people's hair."

"Relax Gray, it's a genuine question," I defended, mostly just to make Gray look like a total asshole manhandling his much younger sister.

"What kind of conditioner do you use?"

"I dunno. My mom buys it, it's in a blue bottle though." I answered.

"Is your hair dyed?"

"Unfortunately, no. I was born like this."

Ultear gaped. "No way! Lucky!"

"Unlucky." I corrected, "do you know how many colors go with my hair? Four. That's exactly how many colors."

"Let's go Juvia!" Gray said quickly, not being able to stand one more second of girl talk.

"Gray! Come back! I need to know how she gets it so wavy." Ultear whined.

I stopped, pretty much to see the pleading look on Gray's face.

"It's a legitimate question~" I sang.

"Please don't do this to me."

"I have to. It's common courtesy." I explained.

"For the record, I French braid my hair after I shower." I told Ultear, sparing Gray the gory girly details.

"Oh my gosh, will you French braid my hair?" Ultear asked hopefully, camping out in front of Gray's bedroom door.

"For god's sakes Ultear, this isn't the fucking brady bunch-"

"Of course I will!"

"Dammit Juvia, would you-"

"You should braid Gray's hair!"

I turned to inspect Gray, like I was taking o my newest client.

"I bet I could…" I admitted. His hair was a little short, but with a shit ton of bobby pins, anything was possible.

"_Hell no_, Juvia, if you touch my hair, I'll-"

"You'll what? Not study with me for the business final?" I asked cheekily.

His face fell. I had him cornered. Sort of like blackmail, I guess.

Ok, it was totally blackmail. I was a regular Evergreen.

He sighed heavily. "…Fine."

I was going to consider this my revenge on Gray.

He made me fall in love with him, fine, I admit it, I lost, but I'd be damned to the 5th circle of hell if I didn't drag him down with me.

I was going to make Gray fall in love with me, even if it ended up killing us both.

* * *

**the hell guys this chapter was 8215 word e**

**anyways, iactually _sort of _liked this chapter ad ill be rlly sad if you guys don't like it so idek let me know what u thought :)**

**SUPER FUN FACT: every variation of the word 'fuck' has been tallied up to a total of 471 fucks, in this entire story so far. *jumps out fourth story window* im so sorry**

**review responses :)**

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Thunder Explosion: the threats I come up with sometimes are v frightening and I literall stand when Yoshi egg shits me off a cliff like um no you have no permission to do that I banish you but thnk you for reviewing u are a very delicious peach

chokecherries: thank you I like writing bitchy characters and umm gajuvia brotp till the end?! hahahHAHAhaha im not cool im literally such a loser pls stop im screaming and crying

wtf gray: thank you! I like to thnk im funny sometimes so hopefully you can laugh at my (horrible writing) and or weird side comments

FlyingDoll4: ikrr I needed her to like something and I guess I chose children and thank for reviewing !

TiTi: iM soRY I got u dragged out of the mall! omg thank you though it means a l ot to know you liked it! (even if it did end in a spaz attack, but nowadays, what doesn't?)

fireXmaiden: youre soo welcome! I hope you liked this garbage pail of a chapter! and I hope I updated fast enough for you not to die!

Guest: shhhh you don't have to pick u my garbage but here have a trashy chapter anyways I lo ve you bye

SN2797: oH MY GOD TOP 5 NO IM TRASH I will always bear with long reviews I love you so much omg! I otally agree with the friendship thing too! that was going to be my plan bc gray is a tsunduck or whatever you call it ! thank youuuu

Zstar1:thaj k you soo much! I hope you like this chapter!

valences: hug me I nEED FRIENDS omg I love you

Lyralei: oh my god don't worry your English is x100 better than mine and omg ur so sweet I llove you don't be insecure about English! English loves you!

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***ugly pterodactyl shriek* **_i__ love you guys_


	8. Keep Your Balance

**welcome back guyz did u miss me no ok**

**disclaimer: if u r sheryl, pls don't choke to death on a burger laughing**

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"You ungrateful _bastard._ Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is to braid hair as short as yours?"

"No. Why don't you enlighten me, because I clearly care so much about the science of hair braiding." Gray said dryly. Well son of a shit is he sassy.

"_Hella_. That's how hard." I said with dead seriousness. Because everybody knows that of the few things I'm passionate about, being right is one of them.

"Well, I do hope you'll forgive me for not giving a damn." He said sensually, opening the car door while keeping smoldering eye contact with me. Goddamn this boy.

"The only way I'll forgive you is if you sing me a song." I demanded, folding my arms and hip checking the car door shut in protest.

"How about 'get the hell in the car unless you want to stay here and get eaten by bears'?" He asked, folding his arms on the hood of the car like he was on some reality TV show where they discussed what types of ties are acceptable at galas.

"How about 'sing me a song or I'll puncture your tires with my mascara brush'?" I threatened. Hopefully he had no idea what a mascara brush was.

He narrowed his eyes, like he remembered what a mascara brush was, but he was still pretty sure I would be able to pull it off.

"…Get in the car."

I stuck my tongue out at him and did what he said. The general idea of 'trick that asshole Gray into falling in love with me' was to keep my bitchiness on the down lo, and maybe hang around him like a gnat to a mango.

Mmmm…mangoes…

"The hell are you thinking so hard about?" He questioned, turning his head around to check the driveway for fallen children.

_Nothing. Just how much I'd love to lick a mango off of your…face…_

"Honestly? Swimming."

_Oh wow, nice cover Juvs, you __**fucking idiot.**_

"Oh yeah. Your next meet is the second, right?" He asked, unusually on point with his estimation. Who am I kidding, this kid could be on point in a fucking horse mask _damn his near perfection perfection!_

"Uh…right." I approved.

"Hope it's ok that we're gonna be there." He mentioned.

"Huh, yeah it's…" _wait a second…we're? what the hell does 'we' mean? _"What do you mean, we?"

"C'mon. You knew you weren't getting away the second my family found out you have something to do with sports." He reasoned.

"Well…you can't!" I sputtered indignantly, almost desperate enough to grab the wheel and swerve into then nearest ditch, hopefully killing us both, so then I wouldn't have to look at his beautiful face, and in return he wouldn't have to look at my hideous face. A fair trade, if I do say so myself.

"What? Why not?" He asked quizzically.

"Well…I'm allergic…to…" _spiders, scorpions, self confidence, wheat…_ "…moral support."

He looked at me like I had just swallowed an infant.

"You know…sometimes, I really can't tell if you're being serious or not." He remarked.

"I am being serious! I'm deathly allergic to any sort of moral support, and that's why none of my parents, or friends, come to my games!" I explained, my voice accidentally raising up a few octaves in defense.

He sighed, long and drawn out. "Fine, if you really want to be that way, then-"

"No! No, no, no! Don't make me the bitch here, I just really hate competitions, and I-"

"Oh, we're not still on that lie, are we?" He asked sourly.

"It's not a lie! It's…" I struggled to make up yet another lie. "The…truth." _Wow, that'll convince him. Unsure pauses and ellipses. _

Before he could say anything in retort, or crush all of my lies into the ground with a grand swing of his beautiful fist, his phone rang and he groaned.

"That's probably Ultear. She keeps trying to send my pictures of her stupid braided hair." He mumbled.

I picked up his phone, since he was driving, and swiped it eagerly. To my astonishment(and utter happiness) it had no passcode, and I was free to frolic on Gray's phone.

I sent Ultear a text back, just the word _nice _because the picture was a little bit blurry and she sort of missed the braid entirely and just got the side of her head.

She texted back extremely quickly, the words WHO R U in all caps blinking ferociously.

Ah. She saw right through my one worded façade. Too bad.

"Hey, you aren't doing anything precarious, are you?" He asked dangerously, like I was surfing internet porn or something else.

"No, I'm just texting your mom to go to hell, and sending your nudes to all of your contacts, no biggie." I covered.

He didn't even flinch, hinting to me that he had no revealing photos of himself on the device. _Dammit. _

"So…" I began awkwardly, "your family, they…"

"Smoke lots of everything? Yeah. I know. I just can't believe you actually made it out alive. It's actually a new record. Last time Lyon brought a girl home, she left in tears because dad asked her why she had three nipples." Gray told, smiling fondly at the memory.

"Huh. That…wasn't actually the vibe I was getting from them…" I admitted.

"Yeah, well, that's cuz they liked you. You lucked out. Thanks, by the way. You have sick-ass lying skills." He praised. My heart skipped a few thousand beats and I scrounged my mind for something to say back.

"Uh…yeah. It comes with the job." I waved away.

"What job?"

"My new job, of getting you into a business college and screwing over Lyon on the process." I explained.

He looked surprised by my declaration, but shrugged it off. "Alright. Good to know I've got someone on my side. You do know you're not getting paid, right?"

I stared at him comically, like I hadn't realized this the whole time. "Stop the car."

He laughed and ignored my comment, thankfully he realized that it was indeed a joke.

He pulled into my driveway, surprising me because I had no idea we were that close to my home. Time flies when you're staring at a god, I guess.

He got out of the car, eliciting some definite protest from me.

"You don't have to-"

"It's fine." He interrupted with sly grin. _Bastard. _He just wanted to see me get embarrassed by my parents.

With a twisted smile, I walked up to my front door and knocked a few times, my dad hated whenever I walked in unannounced. The last time I made that mistake, he tried to shoot me with a nerf gun, and was found hiding under the kitchen table.

My mom opened the door and started choking on whatever exotic fruit she had been eating.

"J-Juvia! You're back early, both of you, come in, come in!" She stammered, throwing open the door and dragging Gray and I by our arms inside the house.

"So…how was studying for _chemistry?_" My mom asked, making it sound like _chemistry _was as deviant as hot sex in the basement. I also still find it hilarious that they ate up that lie even though I don't even take chemistry anymore.

Gray looked at her oddly and I slapped his back to distract him.

"It was…great! Lots of…yeah." I trailed off.

"Well, isn't that nice…_Mark_! Get over here!" My mom suddenly barked.

"Keep it in your pants, woman, I'm comin', I'm comin'…" My dad muttered, more than likely not moving from his spot on the couch.

"So, what did you guys talk about? Did you have fun? How many other people were there? Did you-"

"Yeah mom, I already said it was just…_fabulous_, now let's say goodbye to Gray, and-"

"-Actually yeah, it was a lot of fun. I just can't wait to see Juvia's next meet." Gray intercepted, throwing me a wink and those annoying finger guns. If he were absolutely _anybody _else, I would've broken his hands right then and there.

"Her next…what?" My mom asked openly, furrowing her neat little eyebrows, and probably interpreting the word 'meet' as 'meat' and wondering why I was out barbecuing steaks at other people's houses.

At that moment my dad decided to make an entrance, making Gray's little scene all the worst.

"Hi Mr. Lockser. Anyways, her next _swim _meet." He clarified, giving my dad like, three heart attacks just by mentioning him. To him, that was like the equality of Tom Hanks coming to our house and giving us a private performance of the national anthem.

"Swimming?" My dad's eyebrows went up and down, "I thought you sucked at that."

My eyes went blank and I almost keeled over dead. Thanks for the enthusiasm dad.

Gray looked at me, and then back at my dad like he'd pronounced Julie Andrews to be dead.

"Bad? No way, she's on varsity, and she just set a new record!" He advertised, like I was a roll of Sham-Wow that needed to be sold to my own goddamn parents.

"Like…an actual _swimming _record? She's not that manager, or anything lame like that, right?" My dad asked, intrigued by my hidden sport.

"But you hate swimming," my mom said pointedly, referring to every time I denied her mother/daughter beach time, half because she was totally right, I _hated _swimming, and half because the swimsuits she call swimsuits are not swimsuits. More like…pieces of sparkly fabric that just happen to be connected by a limp string.

"So…let me get this straight," my dad said, a little loud for a simple standing in the doorway conversation, "you're actually remotely good at something _sports_?" He asked.

"Uh…n…o?" I said awkwardly. "And Gray, oh my gosh, I think I can hear your mom calling-"

"Yes. She's great, and I can't wait to see her _on the second_." He repeated the date like it was my execution date.

"Well I guess we'll see you there," my mom said, a little bit shocked.

Wait. Wait just a second.

So…Gray's family was coming…_my _family was coming…_Gray _was coming…

Well somebody just give me a fucking shotgun to the face. Seriously. This is not ok, in any way, shape, or form.

I turned to fiercely glare at Gray in the form of a small smile and I gently shoved him out my door.

"Bye Gray, I'll see you at school!" I screeched, my voice taking its own accord and practically summoning a demon.

"Uh…bye?" He bid, as I slammed the door as hard as I could.

Instantly my parent exploded with chatter.

"Ohmygosh Juvia, how could you not have told us? I'm so disappointed-"

"-Grandchildren by the time I'm forty! Use contraceptives, dammit!"

Wait, what was that last thing again?

"Calm down guys, it's no big deal." I said coolly, edging my way across the entryway and cautiously darting up the stairs.

"I can't wait to see you swim dear! And also, are you a yay or nay for birth control? Because-"

I slammed my bedroom door shut before I had to hear any more of my mother's rambling.

My mom, and dad, both had this unhealthy obsession with contraceptives. They were all for abstinence, or so they've told me, but they prefer condoms and shit because they know firsthand 'teen hormonal needs' or whatever abbreviation my mom has given it.

And honestly, this is an obsession I can understand. My parents had me when they were seventeen years old, something that sickens, and also scares the living daylights out of me. I mean, hell, I'm eighteen, a year older than them as parents, and I couldn't even keep my goldfish that cost nineteen cents alive. God forbid a fucking _baby. _

I buried my face into my blankets, absorbing their distant warmth and sighing.

My life sucks.

**wtf the line break isn't working quick pretend this is a line break guys**

* * *

I got to school early on Monday, but only because Erza wanted to go to Calculus review and offered to pick me up, and since my dad was still asleep and any alternative to the bus is manna from heaven, I gladly accepted.

"Did you even do the homework? I couldn't figure it out for the life of me…" Erza moaned as we stopped by my locker to grab my government things. Calculus review, was, as I knew it would be, completely useless, and only proved to confuse us further.

"I googled some of the answers, worked backwards from there." I informed, pulling out my textbook and shutting my locker.

"Whenever I google it, I get zero results. Damn you and your search engine friendliness!" She cursed.

"Yeah, well, I try…" I sort of trailed off after spotting Natsu and Gray out of the corner of my eye. They were talking and laughing about something. God, I really wish I could be that casual with him, and not just be the total bitch that I was.

"-study for the formative quiz?" I heard Erza finish as we entered the classroom.

"A little," I lied. Formative quizzes were like emails from Satan – no matter how hard you studied, or how much you knew, ultimately you'd still get a pitchfork to the ass.

Luckily, formative quizzes were done with partners, and Erza and I always managed to pull out a high C or B- usually, and that was like…top score.

"Juvia!"

Oh. That was new.

Gray, followed closely by Natsu, caught up with me and Erza easily.

"Hey," he breathed, looking around almost to make sure no one but us was listening, "I gotta ask you something."

My breath hid in my throat and refused to come out.

"Uh…what about?" I squeaked indignantly. Erza looked at me skeptically, and Natsu…_whoa, _Natsu was full on _glaring _at me. Didn't know he had the sort of willpower to conjure up _that _sucker. Yikes.

"Just, you know…things…" he covered, nodding his head unrhythmically.

"Hey Gray, one minute till class." Natsu reminded, seemingly pretty eager to get rid of Gray. Or, more likely, get Gray away from me. Hm. I guess I'll have to figure out what I did to piss him off so badly…

"Oh," Gray said with a frown, "I guess I'll tell you in Physics."

"Yeah, you do that." Erza said, an unreadable expression in her voice.

"I'll see you Gray," I said softly as he turned around to get to his class.

Erza looked at me like I declared myself the new queen of America.

Natsu continued to glare, before sharply whirling around and taking his seat.

I went to sit down in my chair, mind whirring from the last thirty seconds of activity. My heart desperately hoped that Gray wanted to tell me something fantastic, like _'I've always loved you' _or _'Juvia, you're hot af' _but the rational side, my brain, was telling me to chill my motherfucking tits and take a goddamn breather, because he probably wanted to tell me something stupid, like 'Lyon says hi'.

"_Good morning East Magnolia High, these are your morning announcements-_"

God. First things first, our announcements are like those peppy 'our chess team placed fifth in the national tournament! _Gooo_ owls!' the kind of stupid stuff you thought you'd left behind in primary school. Also, our school fucking sucks at everything besides hockey. Seriously, we're known as the hockey school. Everything else is more like 'hey look! We didn't get first in this thing, but we sure as almighty _fuck _didn't get last! School spirit everyone!'. Extremely painful.

I guess I should have seen it coming.

"-_and congratulations to our girls swimming team for defeating Hargeon High, and varsity swimmer Juvia Lockser for setting a State record! Remember to cheer our girls on in two weeks at the-"_

Oh. _Fuck._

The kids in the classroom looked around, almost like '_hey, isn't that Juvia Lockser? Lol I thought she was an untalented fuck.' _

My body went into overdrive and I stared at my desk for comfort.

_I guess you'll always love me, desk…_

I could _feel _Erza's eyes on the back of my neck, strange as the occurrence was. She was demanding to know why I was just mentioned as a record setter, and why she didn't know about it. I could already hear her in my brain. _Juvia, how the fuck did you manage to hide this shit from me?_

Scary.

The humiliation only grew when the teacher worded his congratulations to me, which meant next to nothing to me, other than the fact that he was broadening the group of people that were aware of my secret talent.

Just…fucking brilliant, really, just excellent.

I was seeing red the whole class period. And, to my, and probably your surprise, _all _of my anger was directed at _Gray Fullbuster._

That _assfuck. _He must've bribed, or told, _somebody _about my stupid accomplishment, they wouldn't have included it! They never say names, only teams!

With the exception of Gray during hockey season, but that was a complete given.

I really just wanted to gut that boy like a salmon and lay him out on a grill to fry.

I trusted that dickspliced piece of ass, _god _was I stupid for it, the only thing I had to offer him was a shot at his dream college, and maybe a nice pair of boobs.

Hm…alright, so maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Let him explain himself before I beat the living crap out of him, perfect or not.

We all know that it's the former.

I made a b-line for physics, ready to slice Gray a piece of his own ass and feed it to him like cake. I also skillfully avoided my daily encounter with Erza, which was usually scheduled for the last minute of we can complain to each other fervently. She's probably pissed. Scratch that, she's _definitely _pissed…ah, I'll make it up to her later.

"Juvia! Juvia! Juvia!" Lucy called, unfortunately closer to me than I had anticipated.

"Hey Lucy, I gotta-"

"I heard your name on the announcements! I didn't know you swam! That's so cool! I'm so excited to see you swim!" She bubbled, shaking my shoulders excitedly.

_God. _Not another casualty…_especially _not Lucy…

"Listen, Lucy, I really have to-"

"-and glitter paint! It'll say 'Juvia! Win or die!' I'm just kidding, but I will make a banner." She chattered. She really could talk forever, if I let her.

Gray walked into the classroom with my arch nemesis, or something like that, _Cobra_, but my focus was completely on him.

"Gray!" I whisper-shouted, grabbing the strings of his unzipped hoodie and viciously yanking him out of the classroom. You know, so I could bite off his head in the safety of the hallway.

When I stopped pulling, his face had disappeared behind the tightened mask of his hood, looking like an awkward eskimo. I wanted to squeal and melt into a big 'ol Juvia puddle, but now wasn't the time for doing what I normally do.

He tugged his hood loose, his hair a stuck-up mess and his eyes blinking rapidly.

"Uh…wow. You're pretty eager. What's up?" He asked cautiously, remembering halfway through his sentence that we're literally talking about me and with the information he's gathered of me, I do not get excited, or eager, at all, ever. To him, I probably have an emotional range close to that of an ice cube.

Heh. If only he knew how much I actually freaked out over _everything_, ever.

"_You _idiot. What the hell did you do?! I _told _you I don't like people watching me swim, or…you know! Do…stuff! You think this is a joke!? I'll-"

He interrupted me, thank god, before I embarrassed myself any further. I had totally forgotten about that whole 'benefit of the doubt' thing and just kinda jumped straight into the blame game, which involved punches.

"Hey. Hey. Calm." He instructed, like I was some sort of excited labrador that was jumping on top of his furniture. "I didn't do anything." He finished calmly.

"…" I stopped, closing my open mouth and holding a single finger up like I was still trying to process the four words he said.

"…Oh."

He folded his arms and looked at me expectantly.

I blankly looked back.

He raised his eyebrows made a little motioning sign like he wanted me to go on.

"…the _hell _are you staring at? Do you want something…? Money? I don't have any money…" I patted my pockets to symbolize my lack of currency.

He sighed, unintentionally saying 'you're impossible'.

"Well, you should sort of apologize. You did just kind of try to rip my spline out." He reasoned.

"The _hell _I'm apologizing, do you even know me?" I asked sarcastically, already knowing 100% well that he had no idea who I was.

"I like to think so." He mused, stroking his chin like I was the fucking da vinci code.

"Just…go sit down, freakazoid!" I pushed him back into the classroom. Damn. I'm not doing a very good job at 'operation force Gray to love me'.

Twisting my lips into a frown, I sat down at my desk to prepare for an hour of oh-god-kill-me physics. Of course, my mind managed to wander because honestly if it didn't I'd have to question whatever sanity I may have had left.

Why the hell did the announcements actually say my name? They stuck with _teams, _not names, excluding Gray…

Was it seriously just a stroke of horrendous luck for me? How many fucking pennies had I picked up in my previously lifetime tails up? My luck was like fucking heads or tails, screwing me with a rusty screwdriver in the gall bladder, no matter how you call it.

Wait…wait a second…

Gall bladder…I just reminded myself of something.

Oh yeah. I think I knew _exactly _who would have the means to rat me out to the school board, to rally the school to follow me on my epic journey at the next competition _just to see me fail. _

Fucking basketballs-for-tits Evergreen.

Just…splice my ass with a fucking piranha. That's how fucked I was, on a scale of one to kicking Satan in the kneecap.

My pocket buzzed and I subtly pulled out my phone, mentally cursing Evergreen to the fifth circle of hell, which, according to Dante's Inferno, will leave her eternally drowning in a marsh of souls, or something like that.

It was Erza, surprisingly enough.

_You still coming to my meet this sat?_

Oh yeah. I had _completely _forgotten about that.

_Yeah. As long as jellbag gives me a ride_

Heheh. It was fun giving Jellal random nicknames. I swear, his name could be molded into practically anything.

_K thx. _

I was about to put my phone away, but it buzzed once more, I guess I was just really popular today.

Ew. Sting. He is literally the reincarnation of a toilet emoji. Sadly, I think I'm going to adopt him.

I opened his message and saw a horrible quality photo of the back of someone's head, with scraggly black hair.

_10/10_

Huh. Sting had babbled on a lot about how many hot people were in his pre-calc class, but I never imagined it'd be this…whatever this is.

Plus, I'm not even sure what gender the person was.

But…since it is Sting, I'm just gonna go ahead and put a boy label on mystery crush.

_qt_

I slipped my phone back into my pocket, pursing my lips and sighing.

This was just going to be a butt-fuckingly long week, wasn't it?

* * *

"Oh my god! I just hit a squirrel!"

"No you didn't." I insisted.

Jellal swerved the car hastily to the shoulder of the road anyway. Fucking brilliant. I swear, we would've been there a fucking hour ago if Jellal didn't have to keep stopping to either pee, examine what he thought was a dead body on the side of the road, or moan over something he hardly even nicked.

Luckily, he had picked me up half an hour early, so we could be punctual, or whatever the hell Jellal's code was for 'mack on Erza before she competes'.

Jellal skittishly jumped out of the car, a brave squirrel rescuer in the making, and I reluctantly followed him, mostly because I didn't trust myself not to drive away without him.

"Hm…I don't see anything…" He uttered, checking each of his wheels for leftover squirrel.

"See? Told you that you didn't hit anything, now let's…" I trailed off, spotting, on the left front wheel, proof that Jellal did not imagine the hit-and-run.

"What? What is it?"

"Uh…" I cringed at the graphicness of the squirrel guts. Jellal might actually pass out if he sees it. "My…period is acting up! Quick! Drive me to a gas station!" I screamed, using my period as a crutch even though I described it a bit like arthritis, and I wasn't even on my period.

"O-oh my gosh! Let's go!" He remarked, hopping back in the car and eagerly starting off.

I sat back, rather proud of myself for my quick thinking. Jellal was fairly bendable when it came to the topic of periods, then again, most guys were, but Jellal was especially sensitive, probably because he was the one who had to deal with Erza of all people on her lady days.

He pulled over at the first gas station we saw, to my happiness, not a trashy one either. It was a gas station I would gladly get stabbed at.

"Go, go, go!" He said, out of breath, like we were running in an army infantry and not a gas station parking lot.

"Yeah, yeah, calm your balls Jellal, I'm not going to explode." I chided wryly, slipping into the gas station and purposefully not holding the door for Jellal. I'm such a delightful bitch.

I went to that bathroom, and played with my hair for about fifteen minutes, stalling just enough so that Jellal would believe that I was loosing enough blood to be dying. I got a few strange looks, maybe because I was dressed sub-par (jeans and a big-ass sweatshirt, it used to be my dad's) or maybe it was because a girl can only mess with her hair so much until she starts to look a wee bit obsessive.

Exiting the bathroom, I picked up an oversized bag of pixy stix, something Erza would enjoy after the competition. We used to see who could down more of those suckers in a minute, her record was thirteen, mine was like ten and a half.

"Wow…uh, you ok?" Jellal asked cautiously.

"Buy me these and I will be." I answered, throwing the bag at him unnaturally fast. He caught it and gave me a funny look, but complied.

The rest of the ride to Roseville was rather quiet, me tapping my fingernails to the beat of Jellal's driving mix, and Jellal subtly nodding his head to the beat.

We make a pretty bitchass team.

"Hey, so…I got a question for you." He said casually, walking to the bleachers in the oversized gymnasium. Already, the bars and beams were set for the gymnasts to fuck around and do the flippy shit I couldn't even accomplish in my dreams.

"Yeah?" I asked, ducking my pixy stix into the giant front pocket of my sweatshirt.

"And…this is serious, because you're Erza's best friend and I need your advice." He informed.

I stopped for a second. Was I Erza's best friend? I suppose I couldn't really imagine anyone closer to her then me, mostly because Erza, like me, generally didn't go around spreading her friendship like malaria. We kept to ourselves, and sometimes, each other.

"…Ok." I blurted, chopping my thoughts in half.

"How…do you…"

Of course, Jellal was cut off by the glomping of Erza herself.

"You actually came? I can't believe it!" Erza cheered, in one of her rare excited moods.

"We almost didn't make it. Jelly-bean had to go all mission impossible and kill an innocent forest animal on the way." I told, enjoying the horrified look on Jellal's face when he realized what had happened.

"You…you told me that I didn't!" He accused hotly.

"I spared you the gory details of your fist homicide." I corrected diligently.

"Ah! Oh…my god, it's still on my tires isn't it…" He recalled vaguely, staring into the empty space of Erza's hair.

"Think of it as a battle prize, a sign to ward off other forest animals with the blood of their equal." I reassured.

"Yeah, maybe you'll be considered like a forest god or something now. Glass half full, Jellal-ee-pop." Erza said with a shrug, letting her hand rest gently on Jellal's shoulder. Damn, I envy these two bastards.

"Anyways, you two should go grab seats, wouldn't want them to fill up," Erza said sarcastically. Gymnastics meets, especially away meets, were not known for their rousing popularity.

"Got it. We'll be watching." I said, making glasses out of my curls hands and twisting them to mimic zooming in.

"You're gross." Erza shot at me, before giving her boyfriend a quick kiss on the nose and bouncing away with a wave.

_Fuck_. Why can't I be that beautiful, cute, smart, talented, attractive and perfect all at once? God.

"She's…great." Jellal drawled dreamily. I rolled my eyes and dragged him up to the bleachers.

"So, what did you want to ask me again?" I asked, taking overly large steps to the center of the bleachers. There were only about ten people sitting there, and most of them were on the opposite side of the gym to support the home team.

"Oh. Oh _yeah_, so you know how…uh…the uh…" Jellal struggled to find the words that he wanted to ask. Heh. Erza sort of had that effect.

"Oh! I remember, so, you know how prom is sort of coming up?" He asked, looking at me for conformation.

"What? No it isn't, you need to stop worrying about…" I trailed off briefly. Holy shit. For once, Jellal wasn't obnoxiously overprepared three months in advance. Prom was less than a month away. "Oh. I guess it is. Go on then."

Jellal raised an eyebrow but continued anyway. "So, I was wondering…do you have any ideas on how I should ask her? I really want to make it good, but not too flashy, because…yeah. I'm not exactly a flashy person. He explained half-assedly.

Says the guy with the tattoo on his face, honestly.

I scrunched my face up, hoping I'd be able to spontaneously make something up, because, you know, fake it till you make it.

"Here's an idea," I began, throwing my arm over his shoulder like a handsy real estate agent might do if they really wanted to sell you a piece of shit. "You take a box of dirt, with the word 'no' written on it. Then, you stick a rose, with the word 'yes' on it. Then send her a note asking her to prom, and telling her to bring her answer in." I ended with a laugh. "It's completely foolproof! You _know _Erza would never bring a box of dirt to school, she'll be stuck with you!"

He looked at me, long and hard, like it was the hardest decision of his life – whether or not to kill me right then and there, and to end suffering in America.

"So…your plan for prom…is all centered around," he swallowed, like he was still savoring his sanity, "a box of dirt?"

I nodded. "Make sure it's big too. Big 'ol box of dirt."

"Juvia…you…you're strange." He muttered offhandedly.

"Do you have a better idea? And remember – it's Erza we're talking about – so no singing, public declarations, or restaurant proposals. She thinks they're cliché and dumb." I reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, I know all that…it's just…_what_? I don't understand anything that goes through your brain." He spoke.

"Nobody really does. Just ask her Jellal, she really won't mind, as long it doesn't fall under any of the 'no-no' categories." I encouraged gently.

"Yeah, well. You know, it's senior year, we might not get accepted to the same college…" he sighed, like being an eighteen year old with an insanely great girlfriend, good grades, and not bad looking was a burden. "I just want it to be special. I guess." He added quickly, hoping not to sound too sappy.

"You're…kind of a dork." I commented. He went red and just nodded.

"But, you're Erza's dork. So don't worry about it." I added just as the gymnasts began to file out and _really _practice. Like the ankle-shattering sort of practice. Erza wasn't quite out yet, but when she did come out, it was going to be 10/10 hilarity when the other team realizes that they're monumentally fucked.

"Hey, why don't you go down and get me some pepsi from the vending machine?" I requested, throwing him a dollar and he complied diligently.

Dammit. I just really want a boyfriend like Jellal. Completely submissive to my every demand.

Just kidding. Pretty much my only criteria for guys was you have to be funny, and nice, but still have the ability to be serious.

And you also have to be Gray Fullbuster.

But besides that, it's pretty much fair game. I like to think that I'm rather lenient when it comes to guys. Especially if they are Gray Fullbuster.

Ugh. I'm getting my damn hopes up for no reason. He doesn't want to fucking date me, I'm disgusting. Eleven years old. A five out of ten but only on Wednesdays.

Guess the only way to get Gray to like me is blackmail, bribery, hypnotism, arranged marriage, poisoning, or maybe a hostage situation.

My chances were less than zero. My hopes diminished to a grain of fucking rice.

Mmm. Rice. I'm kind of hungry now.

I whipped out my bag of pixy stix and began tearing them open and swallowing them like shots. I was running on about three and a half hours of sleep due to a thunder storm the previous night, not that I'm afraid, _hell _no, I stayed up and watched those babies light up the night for hours on end.

After about the third pixy stick, satan decidedto pay me a visit.

"Oh _fuck _no. Not this. Anything but this."

Oh god. For once, I actually wish I wasn't holding pixy stix. So my hands would be free. So I could punch him in the fucking face.

Lyon had his head resting in between his fingers, like my presence was even more agonizing than a triple vasectomy.

Dammit. I wish I didn't have a pixy stick halfway down my throat, I would've poured that powder all over his spiky hair, then blew some in his eyes so he'd be momentarily blinded, then I'd run – to Jellal's car – and escape. It was a foolproof plan.

"Are you stalking Gray or something? You crazy stalker bitch, you totally are! Look, he's got fangirls, but _you_, you are _extreme_, it's like you're _obsessed _or something-"

But I'd tuned him out the second he said _Gray_.

_Gray was here?!_

I coughed up a small cloud of pixy stick dust and looked down at myself, having a minor panic attack. I looked like forty five year old trucker, and my hair…_god_ let's just not talk about my hair… I was screwed, so screwed, and that minor shot I had with Gray was about to fly out the fucking window like a lost balloon, bye-bye!

So, I did what was only natural, really, what _any _girl hopelessly in love with Gray Fullbuster would do.

I threw my bag of pixy stix –and if this doesn't prove how much I like Gray, I don't know what does – at Lyon's fucking face, making a comical slapping sound I wish I could've gotten on tape.

And then, I _booked _it down the steps.

And you know, it all would've worked out really well, instead of…what actually happened.

I _slammed _straight into some poor soul who happened to be coming up the stairs.

My body squished against the other persons, and my face buried into their jacket.

I…_oh god_…I knew _instantly _it was Gray, just by the smell of his jacket. It was a nice smell, you know, if I wasn't thrown at him like a major league baseball.

Now, this was _not _the sort of girl-bumps-into-guy-and-they-fall-on-top-of-each-other-adorably kind of cutesy crap you read in fanfiction. This was straight up oh-my-god-his-neck-is-gonna-fucking-snap terror shit from nightmare on elm street.

I wanted to cry. I fell forwards, and he fell backwards, smacking against the metal bleachers with a horrible _thunk._

Oh my fucking god. I killed Gray Fullbuster. My fat ass fucking squashed him and broke his fucking neck like a fucking pigeon. I'm going to jail for manslaughter.

And I didn't even get to fucking finish my bag of pixy stix.

I never saw Venice. I never got married. I never had kids.

But I did kill a kid, so I guess that sort of counts, not really.

I lifted my head slightly, my hair spread over Gray's chest like an unattractive mop.

His eyes were shut.

I let out an uncharacteristically loud wail.

"OH MY GOOOD! GRAY! I'M SO SORRY…I BROKE YOUR SPINE, DIDN'T I? OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD…" My cries were cut short by Lyon's yelling.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT, YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM, WHAT THE HELL?" He screeched, jumping past bleachers to come upon our scene.

To our combined surprise, Gray's mouth scrunched up and he groaned.

Not dead. Not dead. Not _fucking dead oh my god, _thank you satan…thank you so much oh my _god…_

"God…stop yelling…" Gray groaned, because yeah, Lyon was screaming himself hoarse.

"Gray…" I breathed, ready to pass out from fear, "you scared the _shit _out of me, fuck you…fuck…_you_…" With the final 'you', I curled my hand into a fist and landed a mini punch on his chest.

"Juvia…" he wheezed, "can you…get…"

I leapt off of him cartoonishly fast, almost bumping into Lyon on my way up. Why take out only one of the Fullbuster boys, when I can murder both? Heh heh…I'm emotionally unstable…

"Now how the _fuck _is he supposed to play at state!? It's in two fucking weeks…if he's got a goddamn concussion, he'll be _out_! What the fuck-"

"Lyon, shut the _hell _up, god dammit, I'm _fine_…" He croaked, cradling his head in one had and boosting himself up with the other. By now, I was pretty sure that my hand was permanently glued over my mouth from embarrassment, and horror.

"_Fuck_…this crazy bitch fuckin' _decked _you…are you _sure _you don't have a concussion? Because-"

"Yes, yes, I'm perfectly fine…just…dizzy…" he mumbled, standing up woozily and blinking a few times.

"Gray, I'm-"

Gray looked at me and smiled a little bit, melting my heart just a little a lot.

"You were sure in a hurry to get somewhere," he remarked slowly.

I guiltily looked back at Lyon. He glared, big surprise, and tossed me my bag of pixy stix.

"You dropped this," he said darkly, lips twisted into an angry sneer.

"Oh." I mumbled, tucking it into my sweatshirt pocket, "didn't even notice."

Gray visibly perked up. "are those pixy stix?"

"Yes." I answered quickly, yanking them back out of my pocket and hsoving it in his face. "You want some? Take them! I-"

"Whoa, _relax_. Juvia, Jesus, you look like _fuck_." He rudely pointed out, not towards my outfit, but to my face, which was no doubt drained of all color.

"S-sorry." I apologized wildly, but I didn't back down on the pixy stix.

Dammit, where the fuck was Jellal with my pepsi?

Gray selected a blue stick and downed it in one swallow, not unlike what I had been doing a few minutes ago.

"_Damn _that shit is good. Hit me again." He requested, holding out his hand hazily. I complied eagerly, supplying him with eight sticks.

Lyon looked at the both of us, appalled. "What are you two, three years old?"

Gray scoffed, a little less sassy than usual, because he just had a near-death experience. "You're just _jealous _because you can't join our super-secret pixy stick club." He sneered like a bratty three year old.

"Gray, are you fucking delirious? Fucking snap out of it, or I'll-"

"I'm gonna go sit down…" I interrupted, pointing to my seat awkwardly and skittering away.

_God _I'm a fucking embarrassment to myself. I just _had _to knock him on his fucking ass, didn't I? That's just how life works for me, something slightly good happens, then something so horribly _bad _ happens it's like the world will never again be as bright and sunny as it once was.

I spotted Jellal talking to Erza on the ground, she was in her leotard already, looking fabulous, and fucking _hot _as hell. Her legs rivaled mine and that said something because my legs were one of the only parts of me that I took pride in.

Sting was right. If I went for chicks, I'd go so hard for Erza Jellal would have to watch his fucking back.

I sat my head on the palms of my hands, miserable from my latest screw-up.

Everything is terrible forever.

"Scoot over. You're my supplier."

I looked up at Gray, perplexed by his decision to sit by the person who nearly gave him severe brain damage.

He held his hand out, and I slapped a pixy stick into it begrudgingly.

"Oh, blue raspberry. You spoil me." He said sarcastically, even though I could tell from his smile and preference that it was his favorite flavor.

"Yeah, well. Jellal paid for them anyways." I covered shortly. Jellal was coming back up the steps anyways, with my pepsi in hand.

"Hey Juvia. Hey…Gray." Jellal said slowly, unsure why I managed to pick up a stray member to our two person crew.

"Sup." He said boyishly, not looking up from his shot of sugar.

"Whatcha doin' here?" Jellal inquired, taking his seat on the other side of me and passing me my pepsi.

"My sister's on the team, she complained that we never come to her meets, so…blackmail." He let out.

My eyebrows squished together. "Ultear's on the gymnastics team? I thought she was still in middle school…" I mused.

"Yeah, well there ain't exactly a surplus of gymnasts in East Magnolia. She got accepted pretty early on." Gray said, grabbily reaching for my pepsi. I let him have some, but not without giving him a quick glare.

Jellal eyed us both confusedly, my out-of-character _sharing _probably puzzling him.

"I owe him." I said simply, proving to be enough for Jellal.

"Damn right. She about cracked my skull in half." He mimicked a slicing motion with his hands and laughed. He must be losing his marbles, I guess. That's good though, if he's a dummy, I'll have a bigger shot at tricking him into liking me.

"Sounds like Juvia," Jellal murmured, and then the announcements began.

The announcements at this cheap gym were really loud, echoey, and staticy. You could hardly understand a word they were saying, but you got to watch the gymnasts do their stretchy thing and then do whatever activity they did.

Erza was a vault queen. She'd run at that sucker with all she had, barreling towards it faster than I had slammed into Gray, and then would force her hands into the vault and just _fly, _adding a few tight twists and turns before her feet would slam onto the mat, often bouncing once after the harsh landing.

It really was breathtaking, and I'm sure that Jellal would be twenty times more impressed than I was if he was actually looking.  
"I can't watch!" He declared, slapping a hand over his eyes in fear that Erza would snap her ankle in half or something.

"Oh, relax. She'll do fine, do yourself a favor and watch, this shit is _bitchin'_," I whistled, watching another girl fly off of the uneven bars gracefully.

I felt Gray's shoulder lean onto mine for a second, and I had to remind my heart to continue beating and stop slacking off, probably drooling over Gray like my brain.

"There's Ul," he pointed to the balance beam and a short girl bouncing her arms on it repetitively.

"What level is she?" I asked, pretending to vaguely understand the science of gymnastics. One thing I did know was Erza was a level nine, who, according to the local feed, would be better off in club gymnastics than on a measly high school team.

"Seven, I think."

That was definitely good for someone of her age, at least compared to me. I would probably get something of a negative zero if I were to try. Also, I would end up dead.

Ultear jumped up on the beam and made fancy hand motions.

"The hell is she doing?" Gray muttered, hand dances not pleasing his fancy, I guess.

She pushed forward and did a front flip, accurately landing with one foot planted in front of the other one.

Jellal whistled, impressed by her smooth transition. Because apparently, he could watch someone that wasn't his girlfriend.

"You saw Erza's vault, right?" I confirmed, I wouldn't allow him to leave without seeing her absolutely slay at her sport.

"Y-yeah…she almost fell on her ankle, she could've broken it…" He mumbled the last part quietly and looked to the mats anxiously.

Ultear did a twister-flipper thingy, I don't know what it's called professionally. She landed, a bit more shakily than her first flip, but still infinitely more impressive than any swimming I could accomplish.

"I feel a little bad," gray said suddenly, startling me a bit from his period of silence evaporating.

"About what?" I questioned, dipping one eyebrow below the other.

"Ul. She…I dunno, she kinda gets overshadowed by the hockey season. That's probably why she wanted us to come here so bad." He explained, watching Ultear perform her routine.

I looked back at Lyon unconsciously, he looked…sad. As much as I wanted to celebrate his depression, I felt a familiar twist in my gut…my arch nemesis…_pity_.

Like Ultear, I could assume that he, even as an older brother, was constantly bathed in Gray's shadow. I could never imagine the feeling of being inferior to a sibling, let alone one who was younger than me. Maybe that was why he was more bitter than war heads bathed in battery acid.

Lyon turned to look at me, interrupting my inner monologue and giving me a weird look.

I turned away, knowing very well that he'd caught me staring.

"Well," I began, remembering my half conversation with Gray. "You'll be off to college next year, so she'll have the house to herself."

Gray smiled. "I guess so. Lyon too, damn mooch." He mumbled the last part under his breath sourly.

"It's hard to get on your feet," I said without thinking. Gray looked at me like I'd just sprouted wings and declared myself to be a woman of god.

"Did…you just defend Lyon?" He asked, not so much angry as he was surprised.

"_No,_" I answered quickly, my gaze flickering to Lyon for a minute, _dammit_, that fuckass was listening to our conversation…

"_Alright…"_ he said, unconvinced.

I ignored Gray's persistent gaze on my cheek for the rest of the meet, annoyingly making me want to scream in excitement and fear. Of course, if we hadn't had a near death experience it might've been a bit more impressive. Maybe he was just plotting his revenge scheme.

When the meet ended, I allowed Jellal to have some alone time with Erza - _wink wink _– and I went with Gray and Lyon to congratulate Ultear on her 9.47 average, earning her sixth place in the competition.

We were all deathly silent on the way there, the tension between Lyon and Gray making it kind of hard to breath. They were sending each other glares from across the cramped hallway, in a vicious eyeball battle that would never be resolved.

"Gray! Lyon!"

Ultear mauled Lyon, who was the closest sibling, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and squeezing with unnatural power.

"_Fuck _Ultear, get off!" Lyon cursed, bouncing on one leg in an attempt to get Ultear to fall off his body like a coconut.

"Gray? You brought your girlfriend?" Ultear teased, sticking her tongue out at him and tightening her grip around Lyon's neck, if it were possible, as well as wrapping her legs around his chest so she hung off of him like a tumor.

"_Not_-"

"His girlfriend." I finished for him. Ultear just grinned.

"They're already finishing each other's sentences, isn't that cute Lyo?" She jeered, poking Lyon's cheek with an affectionate nickname and ruffling his hair to the point of static electricity.

"Just adorable." He said flatly.

"Get offa him, ya gremlin." Gray peeled Ultear off of Lyon in one swift _pluck_.

Sometimes, I really wish I had siblings. Or that my parents would just go ahead and adopt Gajeel already. Even though they have no idea who he is. Minor detail, I'll work it out with them at a later time.

"Feed me after midnight, _then _we'll see who the real gremlin is!" She cheered, gleefully grabbing at Gray's back.

_Fuck. _They're so cute. Fucking date me Gray.

"We found a bloodstain on one of the gym mats. Wanna see?" Ultear asked excitedly, the sort of glimmer in her eyes that told me she was desperate for her brothers' approval.

"I'll pass." Lyon said.

"Awesome." Gray encouraged.

Ultear dragged gray away hurriedly, and all of a sudden, it dawned on me.

I was alone with Lyon.

The second Gray and Ultear disappeared, he turned to me fiercely, with an accusatory glint in his eyes.

"Look, I don't know what your goal is here, and I don't _care_. If you're here to fuck up Gray's chances at State, and magnolia U, _congratulations, _because you're doing one hell of a job. But if you keep going, sooner or later, your feelings are going to make this _all _blow up right in your face, so I hope you're ready for when that day comes." He whispered coldly.

My…_feelings?_

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, I'm so busted. He knows I like Gray. He's going to tell him, and I'll be mortified fro the rest of my life. I'll have to go into the witness protection program. It's the only way. Change my name, change my home, change my life-

"What _feelings_?" I demanded to know, just in case I was overreacting and he thought I had a secret love for umbrellas, or something stupid enough that only Lyon could've thought of it.

He scoffed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You think I don't notice? It's so obvious, and if you think you have even a _sliver _of a chance, then-"

Oh no. I'm dead. God has officially pulled me from the world of the living, and placed me into a mental home where I can sit in a rocking chair for eight hundred years, reminiscing the day when my life all just went straight to hell.

"-with me."

Huh? I totally missed what he just said.

He noticed the primitive look on my face and rolled his eyes.

"I said, you have absolutely no chance with me. Forget it." he said confidently.

…_Huh._

I felt relief flood through me like fucking exodus. _Amazing_. He thought I liked _him. _Gah, the idea was so ludicrous I don't know whether to start puking or just laugh at him.

He had _no _idea.

I sighed, a happy smile resting on my lips, and a confused, fading smirk on Lyon's.

"What are you so happy about?" He sneered, like my happy attitude had somehow derived from my thirst to murder him, which, in a way, it had.

"Just the fact that I'd rather date Sting for three years, get engaged, and on our wedding day get left at the altar because he finally discovered that he was so, _so _gay, than ever look at you in _any _romantic light. Like…ever." I said, slowly and sweetly so he could understand every word.

Perplexed, he looked at me for extra conformation.

"Just one question."

"Hit me."

"Who the hell is Sting?"

Oh. Damn. That probably would've made much more sense, and proven to be much more impactful if he actually knew Sting.

"A guy gayer than every member of One Direction, _combined_." I clarified with gusto.

He sucked in a breath, realizing that I was indeed, serious about this.

"…Oh."

"Yeah, oh." I repeated dryly, enjoying the akward situation we were now thrust into.

"I…read that wrong." He admitted. Heh, at least he's not being a tool about it.

"Better luck next time." I added crisply, before whirling around in the most epic of fashions and strutting off like I was motherfucking Tyra Banks and not the huge loser Juvia Lockser that I was.

With perfect timing, Jellal waved me over to his car so that we could leave. I felt a little bad about leaving without saying godbye to Gray and Ultear, but there was no way in _hell _I was going back to Lyon-Central. That atmosphere had to be preserved.

For once, my day was actually looking pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.

"So," Jellal started casually as he started up the car, "when did you start liking Gray?"

...you know what? Just…fuck it.

"Four years ago."

His eyes visibly widened, but he nodded slowly.

"And you…just started acting on it this year?'

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p' with surprising mental stability, which I knew was a façade, but it was wearing up pretty well.

"I don't suppose you want any help?" He added hopefully.

"Jellal, I love you, but if you make one single contribution I'll chop your balls off and mail them to Lucy's cat." I said, cheerfully refusing to meet his eyes as I stared out the window, my eye probably twitching.

"Ah. That sort of arrangement." He breathed out, "and…am I the only person who knows?"

_Should I tell him about Gajeel…? Yes? No? Maybe…? _

"Yes. And it had better stay that way, or else you might wake up without organs, who knows. Anything could happen, really."

"…Juvia?"

I blinked, staring at my reflection in the sidewiew mirroe, my pathetic, stupid reflection.

"Yeah?"

"I think you have a pretty good shot."

I smiled a little bit my sad reflection disappearing for who knows how long.

"I hope you're right."

**i just wanted to add this one thing and then nine thousand words happened**

**also, wth there were like twenty five reviews last chapter. I cried almost as hard as I did when I found out about zm. **

**I should probably just start pm-ing you guys for answers now, huh.**

**Anyways, you guys are fabulous snicker doodles thx for listening to this weird pointless story and telling me what you liked/disliked. It reallyreally means a lot to me in the long run :)**

**response-z**

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a river of stars: thx idk I just kind of attempted ultear and it didn't work so I just fucked it up and yeah :) gruvia romance jfc idk when ill get something in there but I do know when their first kiss will be XP im annoying trust me

guest: thx! I try to make juvia shit tons of awesome

AsDarknessSpreads: oMG THANK YOU I TRIED SO HARD ON THAT LINE U HAVE NO IDEA bc someone once gave my brother a jesus pamphlet on halloween instead of candy it was a true outrage. ftftfftft thx for reading and reviewing and stuff that's vv nice you nice human v nice

Zstar1: thank you! sorry for the wait, I hope I didn't let u down ;(

guest: ye this one was way longer it wa to write u hear me a bitch I hope u liked it though

chokecherries: ohmygod date me ok thx I just kinda poke the keyboard and see what happens literally thank you so much ily

and also listening to 80s music at night is literally _me I mean _ me literally same bye ly

guest: thxthxthx I tried to keep it up so yeah do tell me what u thought

guest(2?): thank you v much

guest(again? I guess? thx anyway love): thank you!

anya: yes she _liiiiiikes _him

sheryl: that's ok u can date me instead sheryl I will buy you ice cream and cake and chocolate and also heres an update thank you! (I also left you a disclaimer so u don't die horribly that would be bad on my part)

guest: I like hoe I portrayed them too

Lyralei: thx school sux don't do it its bad and thankyouthankyouthankyou! you are vv nice and sorry about the ul/ur confusion!

muffin-dragon227: you mean like drugs jk jk I was watching breaking bad and I needed that ok but DAMMIT I STILL HAVENT FUCKING READ SHAVED ICE JUST STEP ON ME ok but yeah I really tried on that evergreen bit, hopefully ill be able to pullit off again next chapter. THANK YOU KINDLY MUCH FOR THE HEADCANONS BC YOURE AMAZING AND CREATIVE THX ily2 hope this was a little bit past mediocre bc that's were I set the bar

fireXmaiden: thank YOU LOVE omg I love you you sounded so out of breath in your review xxx stay kindly

wtf gray: ikR I want to braid grays hair badly oh my god I forgot to total the fuck count lemme just check oh oK 536 FUCKS WE WON YAAAAAAAAAAAY I don't have pizza but I have caramel and starbursts! (not together, im not into masochism) heheh side comments don't listen to me im weird

valences: thank you thank you kind baby egg ily I _was _gonna write it out but I have something better planned for next chapter B) _touchy touch ily_

guest: thanks! sorry, im kind of a trucker when it comes to swear words xxx I tried to tone it down a bit more...ddnt really work, but enjoy anyways!

TiTi: heheehe its my goal to embarrass with laughter thank you v much

LucyHeartfilia4068: thank you thank you! hapoe you enjoyed this little nugget

hotrodren: thank you sweet lady ilysm no don't admire me im bananas but have fun with your two year old :)) hopefully they wont be too terrible, for my brother they sure were.

GuestsDontTwerkTheyRead: thank you! I tried to keep ultear nice and creepy for u

Little Miss Z: thanx no run away from my tumblr im creepy but your review made me smile so much awe ilysm I hope I updated to your liking! o the tampons that's hilarious omf

queen . drop: (sorry ffnet wouldn't let me type your name normal) literally this review was so unexpected like I was actually writing this when I got it and it really motivated me to yknow update faster but THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVED YOUR REVIEW SO MUCH IDK WHAT TO EVEN SAY BUT LITERALLY I LOVE YOU LETS GET MARRIED

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**qts everywhere**


	9. The Drunk Tank

**when you do a bunch of edits then forget to hit save**

* * *

I stared down the hallway like it contained a prophecy that would unveil my very future.

_All I have to do is run…Gajeel could probably get me a fake ID and then I could continue my life, not as Juvia Lockser, but as Norma Shraknut. Or something like that. _

If I took a step forward, I would condemn myself to a lifetime of regret.

If I took a step backwards, I would be forced to endure such tragic humiliation I would most likely never recover. Both options were less than adequate, and in all honesty a scapegoat would be manna from heaven.

"Juvia, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

I turned to see a concerned Kinana sticking her head out of the locker room anxiously. I'm sure I looked a lot like Heath Ledger before his untimely demise at the moment, hair sticking up out of its bun fruitlessly and smile etched onto my face like somebody had taken a pink sharpie marker and gone nuts.

"Yup. I'll be right there." I crackled, voice refusing to stay on one octave as it bounced around the decibel range from extremely high pitched to a baritone tuba, if that's even a real thing.

I turned around, facing my shitty destiny as the world's biggest swimming tease.

It was do or die.

Kinana was the only person left in the locker room, she must have been waiting for me. All the other swim and dive team girls were probably out showboating or canoodling with their boyfriends until the actual meet began.

We were up against Falcon Ridge High School, or as the student body of East Magnolia High had so kindly dubbed it – Falcatraz. The school was surrounded by a dull red-bricked wall, entrapping the kids who attended inside. No one had ever escaped. Rumor had it that their swim team wasn't half bad this year – twice as talented as Hargeon High, the school we had swam against last meet.

Not that I'd be seeing it firsthand. I'd be too busy making an ass out of everything I've worked for.

"You're already dressed, hurry up and get out there! The swim coach wants to talk with you!" Kinana called, one of her legs halway out the door.

"Ok…" I called back, revaluating all of my options. Of course, the best solution, but least cost efficient one, was just going on ahead and snapping my legs in half. Problem fuckin' solved – no legs, no swimming.

I stopped for an extra second to slam my forehead against one of the lockers. For good luck. Then I made my way to the door to the swimming pool.

In my head, I saw everyone I cared for sitting out in the audience, surprised and eagerly awaiting to see the skills I supposedly had. Only to be dissapointed, of course, today was not a day in which I would be reviered. The day would be known nationally as the day Juvia royally forgot how to swim.

Pressing my palm against the door, I gave it a firm shove, revealing the familiar musty scent of chlorine. The air was heavy with it, putting a bonus weight on my shoulders so I probably looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dam on my way to see the coach.

I sluggishly pulled one of the straps of my swimsuit back over my shoulder from its falling position, and tapped my coach on the shoulder.

He turned around, in all his short, bald-headed glory, and steam flew out of his ears.

"Listen up Lockser, you did well last meet. But if you think that makes you _special _in any way, you're dead-fucking-wrong! I want _110 bloody percent _out there, or I'll make sure that your parents won't recognize you when you're done!" He growled. My less-than-respondant nod must've pissed him off, because his ears went red and the little blue vein in his temple pulsed like some gross blue snake.

"_Look _at me Lockser, and tell me – what is your goal in life?" He asked, in the sort of deadly calm voice that warned you not to fuck with him.

Unfortunately for me, that's exactly what I excelled at.

"To be the very best, like no one ever was." I recited, almost singing the lyrics instead of saying them with a perfectly straight face.

Silence. I guess he didn't get my reference.

He cleared his throat quickly before saying anything else. "I suppose that's appropriate – but I swear to Roosevelt Christ, if anyone from Falcatra-Falcon Ridge gets even a _second _near you, I'll know. I'll _know_." He whispered the last part before fading into the shadows. Well, not really. He just sort of slowly backed away while maintaining eye contact with me. It was super creepy, actually.

"So."

I whirled around in the opposite direction to see the entire reason why this day was going to be so fucked up for me.

"_Evergreen,_" I said, like I was a nine-year-old announcing their temporary arch-nemesis.

"I expect you'll perform the way you should today, correct?" She double-checked, smiling like this was the greatest pleasure she'd ever had in her entire life.

"Calm your jigglypuffs Evergreen, I'll do what I have to." I bit back.

Her eyes narrowed. "If you mess this up today, you know what'll happen right? Now you _will do your duty, correct?_" She threatened.

Instead of answering with a sarcastic 'yes'm' like I should've, I uttered a few words that in no way, shape, or form, helped my case.

"I gotta pee."

And with those memorable, intelligent words, I scurried back into the locker room, beathing like I was three hours into labor.

I began pacing back and forth irritably in the locker room, mulling over my decisions for the umpteenth time. It really was frustrating, when your entire body says 'no' but that annoying, naggy as _hell_ soul of yours starts saying 'yes'.

_Ok, ok, I just have to go out there, fuck it up, then be done with it. it's as simple as that. Done and done, peel it off quick – like a band-aid. Rip it off like a goddamn band-aid Juvia!_

I let one, long breath out before I stepped out into the hallway. I don't really know why – I was probably just sick of the sticky locker room air. The air hit my bare legs and shoulders coolly forcefully. I just needed a few breaths, that was all, just one, deep breath in, and one right back out.

In the midst of my breathing (more like wheezing, actually) my eyes spotted something shiny, and since I was basically nine years old, I pretty much wanted to touch it.

The fire alarm was like that one bible story. The one with Jesus. And that other guy. Can't remember his name, but, blah, blah, blah…something about temptation, I guess.

My hand grazed the alarm unconsciously. If I just pulled it…just yanked that baby down – boom! No more swim meet, not if the school's on fire!

My hand pulled back. It would be overall more beneficial if I just straight up lit the school on fire. That would solve everybody's problem. But mostly mine.

I backtracked, forgetting any plans of escape and mentally accepting my fate.

I walked back into the locker room, gaze downtrodden and probably frowning, or sneering. You can never really be sure when it comes to my face, but I like to think that it's a little bit of both.

When I opened the locker room door, the first event was about to start. I wasn't involved in it, so I hadn't really missed anything important besides, you know, the national anthem.

I was involved in backstroke, which was only one event away from this one. So was Evergreen, and that one other girl…twitchy, or something. They were both decent, I guess, but not good enough to win. I could in, probably. _Could. _Key word, _could._

Somebody tapped my shoulder. I whirled around with the grace and etiquette of a frightened squirrel.

"You're the fast one, right?" She inquired, and I took short notice of her forest green swimsuit. She must've been a swimmer from Magnolia South, rotten cake-eaters.

Sorry. They're just kinda notorious for having ass-loads of money.

"Uh…no." I lied thinly. She gave me a downcast look and moved on to another swimmer from my team, to ask the very same question.

My eyes caught hold of the bleachers and I scanned for people I knew.

I saw Lucy, Levy, and Lisanna, all tightly clustered together holding up glittery signs with my initials. Jesus. I should've known Lucy would break out her bedazzler. Fuck me.

Erza and Jellal were sitting in a row in front of them (double fuck me) and Gajeel, although his face was shrouded by the darkness, the way he liked it (creepy bastard) was standing up, his back leaning up against the wall like he was a guy who was too damn cool for sitting.

My frown deepened when I spotted Gray and his friends, Natsu, the pissy-baby, who was indeed still pissed at me for reasons unknown, Elfman, Evergreen's man candy, _Cobra_, my arch-enemy next to Evergreen, uh… forgot the rest of their names, but it'll come to me later.

"JUVIA! JUVIA LOCK-SER!"

I recognized Lucy's crazed fangirl voice from a mile away. I ducked my head for some mild subtlety, but it made no difference. Lucy was as vicious as a cornered bull shark when she wanted to be.

Lucy waved violently and pointed to the shimmery _J _on her poster, as well as the _M _and the _L _that Levy and Lisanna were holding.

I waved back timidly and shielded my eyes to make sure no one else of interest may have noticed me.

And by 'of interest' I mean Gray fucking Fullbuster.

"_Next up – the 400 meter backstroke, on deck is-"_

Guh. There's the sound of my funeral music.

I lightly stretched my arms, feeling no need to do the entire stretch routine because it wasn't like I was actually going to try.

The results of the first event were in – we had just barely snagged third place. The coach was staring holes into the back of my chest, he wanted me to win, and he wanted it _bad. _

Meanwhile, Evergreen, from the third lane, glared at me with heated passion.

I shrugged, honestly not caring how much Evergreen wanted to slice 'n dice me into oblivion. As long as she kept her promise…

I let my eyes drift to Lucy's smiling face before I slipped into the water coolly.

That was all that mattered – as long as she was safe.

And with that, the whistle blew and I sealed my fate.

* * *

"WHAT IN THE WIN-STON CHURCHILL WAS THAT?"

Haha. That's cute. British swears.

"Coach, you're not allowed in the girl's locker room." I droned monotonously as I dried my hair.

"I'M NOT GODDAMN LEAVING UNTIL I GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER – WHAT WAS **THAT**?" He roared.

Unfazed, I twisted some excess water out of my ponytail and tapped my chin in mock thought.

"I think you should probably leave, unless you want a lawsuit on your hands. I'm pretty sure this might be some sort of crime? Peeking on girls?" I hinted obnoxiously. I was sort of a shell of a person right now, I had pretty much just glided my way across the pool, losing easily by three seconds and landing myself last place.

I'm pretty sure coach's face vein popped, but I wouldn't have really known, because I was out of that godforsaken pool the second the whistle blew and safely in the locker room before a single spectator could inquire 'what the hell?'

"Lockser – I'm dead fuckin' serious. What happened out there?" The seriousness of his tone struck a chord in me – along with the way he said 'fuckin'. Like 'fookin'. Hilarious.

I turned to face him, I easily had an inch or two on him, but he still managed to be intimidating.

"I forgot how to swim." I said hollowly.

Well, if his vein hadn't popped after the race, it sure as hell imploded now.

"The _bullocks _is that supposed to mean?! Lockser, I swear to _Christ-_"

"Coach? What…what are you doing in the girl's locker room?" One of the other swimmers squeaked, covering up herself with a towel even though she was still fully swimsuit covered.

His eye twitched. "We'll talk later." He said, giving me the 'I'm watching you' motion with his fingers.

"Not necessary coach," I called without thinking, "I'm quitting the team."

His eyes popped out of his skull and if we were in a cartoon, they would've bounced around like yo-yo's.

"_WHAT-"_

"Girl's locker room." I reminded with a finger tap to the women's sign on the door.

Furious, he took a step out, but not without mouthing '_you're dead' _to me.

Ah. Nice to receive threats from both him and Evergreen. Then again – it wouldn't truly be a weekend in the life of Juvia Lockser if her life wasn't being threatened.

After he left, I let the 30 second conversation sink into my skin.

_I just quit the swim team…_

I looked at myself in the mirror, a pale, unimpressive, sad looking girl stared back. Pathetic.

_I let her win._

Evergreen had the swim team – she got what she always wanted. And once again, I did the right thing, even if it screwed me over in the end.

"Well aren't you just a good-fucking-citizen." I muttered, throwing my hairbrush at my reflection angrily and storming away.

It had been like this my whole life – why in the world had I let myself believe that it would be different this time?

* * *

I took my time shuffling through the school corridors – I had absolutely _no _intention of saying hello to all my friends and family who had shown up to the meet. No, their disappointed faces and 'you'll get 'em next time's' would probably drive me to insanity.

I had spent a good twenty minutes locked up in the locker room, waiting for the other girls to leave. I barely made it without drowning myself in the nearest toilet and/or killing myself via swirly.

They lost, too. By a lot. They got creamed, if you're really into that lingo.

It didn't bother Evergreen – hell, she was overjoyed! Goddamn bitch.

Anyways, all that senseless bimbo babble was completely worth it – it was just me, and the school, and…

At that moment, my ears betrayed my mind's serenity. I heard crying. Female crying too.

Unfortunately, I recognized that crying, and a sudden dread hit my heart with similar force to a titanium sledgehammer to the goddamn face.

I picked up into a run, racing around the corner to find the source of the tears.

_No, no, no, no, no, no…she promised, I did what she said! How can this-_

I turned the corner sharply and saw exactly what I didn't want to see.

Lucy, hunched over and covering her eyes, was bawling, Levy and Lisanna patting her shoulders for comfort. The imaginary sledgehammer wacked me in the face and I was by her side in a second.

"Lucy, wha-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, Levy started shaking her head frantically, and Lisanna started pretending to cut her neck, a signal _not to say another goddamn word._

Lucy lifted up her face, eyes red and puffy and mascara smudged all around her cheeks and face.

The second her eyes met mine, she let out an extraordinarily long wail and plunged her face back into her hands.

Confused, I offered my condolences by resting my hand on her shoulder blade, much like Levy and Lisanna.

"_What are you doing?_" Levy whisper asked me. My eyebrows moved together in confusion.

"_What do you mean?" _I asked back. I was just trying to help, I mean, _Jesus_, I knew I could be insensitive sometimes, but Lucy was clearly in need of-

"How could you?!" Lucy moaned suddenly. "Do you hate me, Juvia?!"

Shit. I suppose evergreen blamed everything on me, I just have to explain _everything_…oh god, this is going to suck…

"Lucy, I'm so sorry…I really tried, I just wanted to protect you-"

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's what I wanted?" She interrupted shrilly, rubbing her eyes and leaving furious tear and makeup trails down her face.

_Wait…what? I'm confused…_

"Are we…talking about the same thing?" I asked for clarification. Lucy batted my hand off of her shoulder and glared.

"Of course we are! I can't _believe _you'd do something like that without even asking me what I thought!" She screeched, we were definitely not on the same page. In fact, I had no fucking idea what page she was on.

"Wait…what are we talking about?" I asked pathetically, like a child lost in an adult conversation about politics.

"Natsu dammit! Now _why _did you tell him to stay away from me?"

Oh. _That. _

My mind flashed to every time I'd told Natsu to stay away from Lucy, that she was too good for him…

Ah. _Now _I can kind of see why he hated me so much.

"I…uh…" I garbled guiltily.

"Why'd you do it?!" She repeated accusingly.

"Lucy, maybe we should-" Lisanna tried to intercept, but Lucy cut her off with one menacing look.

"I just wanted to protect you," I reiterated, knowing full well I was treading on a mine field.

"Well you did a damn good job," she sniffed bitterly. "He won't even talk to me anymore…"

_Good, _I thought, despite myself. I wasn't really helping my case by showing little to no guilt. Sure – I was guilty that I made her cry, but I don't regret telling Natsu off.

"Lucy, I'm sorry that you're sad – but I did what I thought was best for you." I said, only realizing how condescending and pretentious that made me sound after I said it.

"You don't know what's best for me! How could you _possibly _know?" She made the idea sound so ludicrous it stuck me in the gut. It really hurt, especially after all I'd sacrificed for her sake.

"I don't trust him." I justified, even though my resolve was fading. I had zero evidence that Natsu was evil, all I knew was that some part of him was a dumbass, and I didn't want anybody making slip-ups around Lucy. She was fragile, despite the strong façade she puts up most of the time. I knew firsthand what boys could do to her, how they could change her without even giving the consequences a side thought.

"I do! I trust him! You can't make decisions for me!" She screeched, like I was her mother who wouldn't let her date a boy.

Wow. That's actually…scarily accurate…

I bit the inside of my mouth so hard it bled – I was getting too frustrated to function. I needed to leave before I really said something I regretted.

"You know what? Fine – I won't make decisions for you any longer. But just know that maybe this time, I won't be there to take the fall for you." I said, coolly and calmly, like a time bomb seconds from exploding.

Her face went from confused, to shocked, to almost guilty.

"Juvia, wait, this isn't like that-"

But I was already leaving, because frankly a few more seconds and it would've been the fourth of July hysterics.

Awesome, just…_awesome. _

I should've known my protectiveness would get me in trouble one of these days. I'd taken every precaution throughout high school to keep Lucy away from boys – a total dick move, if you ask anybody who doesn't understand the circumstances, of course. And seeing that the only people who understood the circumstances were me, Gajeel, Erza, Evergreen, and Lucy – the pool of people who think I'm not an astronomical bitch for this are in the single digits.

I guess I should backpedal to the summer before freshman year. That was the summer that Lucy's father died, leaving a gaping hole in her family. Now, Lucy relied on her aunt and uncle to take care of her, but the transition that year was hard enough on her.

As much as I hate to admit it – Lucy was weak. Granted, it was a justified time of weakness for her, that I should've seen, and protected her, but I didn't.

About a month after her father passed, Lucy met a boy.

If you think about it – it made total sense that she'd be desperate for male companionship, whether it be physical or not. She'd just lost the only male role model in her life, she needed _somebody. _

Unfortunately for her, she picked the worst person possible for the job.

This kid was not only ugly as hell – but he was ugly on the inside, too. One of those sicko kids that you're 99% sure will end up on America's Most Wanted in the future.

But the little bastard was smart, too. He took complete advantage of Lucy's weakness. He grabbed it and chained it to a fucking tree, more like. Lucy was head over heels for him, said that they were in _love_, even though we could all clearly see the only thing that he _loved _was her bra size.

I should've done something. I should've done_ anything_ to get her away from him, even if it meant killing that little snot-nosed punk in the process.

It only took him a few weeks to ask her to send him nudes. God, the thought makes me want to simultaneously throw up and rip my scalp off just that that little twerp actually got the photos_._

All Lucy wanted was to make him happy.

And he was happy alright_ – so _happy that he decided to share those photos with a few of his friends.

A few of his friends became a lot more than a few though. Luckily, Erza and I were able to put a slight halt to the sharing (which involved a lot of threatening and extortion, mind you) but not enough so that it was completely gone.

Lucy was lucky enough that it was never posted on social media, only discreetly distributed through texts and messages.

I'm sure this is the point where you've come to the conclusion that Evergreen has this photo.

Yes, by freshmen year swim tryouts Evergreen had a pretty good idea that I would kick her ass at everything she did – _ever. _But she also found out that I was rather close to a girl who had made a stupid mistake.

Who knows. Maybe Evergreen is the youngest in her family, never having accomplished anything in her sibling's shadows and just needed _something _to excel at in order to maintain her dignity, I don't know.

All I do know is that I'll be damned to the satanic supreme court before I let that stupid photo get released.

Lucy had no idea – absolutely _no idea _that Evergreen is holding this over me like a goddamn dumbbell. That secret is save for the few.

I clutched my swim bag to my back tighter. The service hallway – a popular shortcut from the gym area to the language hall – was irregularly cold, despite the now warming weather. It was only me, and the sound of my flip flops hitting the backs of my feet as I trudged through the dim hallway, defeated.

Bored and cynical, I looked down at my phone to see how many messages I had. Three were from my dad, in all caps, asking me where I was. Huh. They must've actually shown up. Too bad they had to see me fail.

I texted him back that I was going over to Erza's after. Hopefully he hadn't seen her on his way out.

I had one message from Sting, saying 'girl u got ur ass kicked'. I guess he was there too. Fabulous.

And lastly, I had a message from Gajeel. Wow. He hardly ever texted me, being the weird lonely turtle that he was. It simply said 'I'm sorry', proper grammar and all. I feel so honored.

With a final slap of my shoe against the hard tile floor, I clicked open the door to the tech room.

The tech room was my final solace. Nobody joined tech crew anymore anyways, so I was safe to dawdle amongst the hard smell of sawdust and rusty nails while still maintaining my solitude. Excellent.

There was enough masonite and two by fours to build a small house in the tech room, and unused house paint and clogged brushes littered the ground. My initials were still spray painted in silver on the wall from that time when I was put in charge and just completely made a mess out of things. Tech crew was honestly so pointless – I only joined because Gajeel loved it, and it turned out I was the hottest person there. That says a lot about the tech crew.

Nevertheless, I managed to pick up a few building tips here and there, as well as the perfect formula for a chemical reaction to blow up six two by fours in a row strategically.

There was still a throne that Gajeel said he and some other guy built one summer – it had a few stray splinters here and there, but it was acceptable for the queen of assholes anyway.

I sat down on the chair and sat my head in my hands pathetically, waiting for something, or someone, to save me from the disaster I called my life.

* * *

I fell asleep in the goddamn chair.

There were enough cricks in my back to vouch for that – like I didn't already have enough problems from the melonzillas that called my chest their home. God, I was a disaster.

The clock on my phone said that it was eleven 'o clock at _night. _I was fucked from here to Arkansas. I couldn't get my parents to pick me up – then they'd know I hadn't gone over to Erza's, and then that would bring several other excuses to light that may or may not have been true.

I could probably text Erza and just get her to pick me up, and then I could spend the night there…that was easily my best option.

I quickly texted my parents that I'd be staying over at a friend's house – of course, not specifying _which _friend in case staying at Erza's was a bust. Lucy's place was pretty much crossed off the list as well. I still had Lisanna and Levy as backups.

My trek to the parking lot was short lived. The lot was fairly empty, save one car out towards the back of the forest. Probably just some kids going out for a smoke. There was actually a designated place for getting high there – a place classmen call 'narnia'. It's a big, bent over tree, red from fungus and decaying from years of wet death. Kids go there to blow weed pretty much every day. All the teachers know about it too, it's actually kind of dumb to smoke there now, I guess. Everybody knows about it.

Not that I've ever smoked there, partly because Levy would punt me to another galaxy, and partly because I was too lazy to put in the effort to hide my illegal smoking activities. Plus that shit smelt _nasty. _

I ambled out into the parking lot, making the quick decision to have Erza pick me up from the nearest gas station instead of the school. She'd probably be a little bit suspicious of my staying there for an excessive amount if time – and I wasn't about to admit I'd just slept there for god's sake.

The closer I got to the car in the parking lot, the faster I realized that they weren't on their way to narnia. The kid was simply sitting on the hood, gazing up at the stars like John Lennon, or something.

Also, the closer I got to the car, the more I began to recognize the figure.

_Oh god. Dear god no – anyone but him, honestly, you can send me Jeffrey Dahmer and it'd be better than this…_

On top of that, I recognized an all-too-familiar miniaturized grocery bag wrapper around something suspiciously tall. I knew what that meant. Unfortunately.

"Hey there…buddy…" I called out experimentally, making sure that he wasn't drunk and/or high off his ass.

He sat up lazily, like I'd woken him from a three and a half year slumber.

"Mom? Is that you?" He asked aloud slowly.

Great. Delusions.

"No," I answered testily, tapping the hood of his car to let him know that I was fairly close to him.

He looked at me with half glazed eyes and frowned. "Oh. It's just you."

"Just me." I confirmed, surprising myself by hopping onto the hood beside him. "What are you doing here, Lyon?"

"I got bored of dad fawning over Gray. Went to the liquor store then stopped 'ere cuz I felt like it." He drawled.

"How uh…how many of these have you had?" I asked, experimentally moving the concealed beer bottle away from him.

"Bout two 'er three. But I'm not drunk…I'm not drunk…I can drive…" he stuttered.

"My mistake." I said, but I still did not return the half empty beer. Geez, this is even more pathetic than I thought Lyon would go. Drinking in a school parking lot is about the dumbest thing next to invading Russia in the winter.

"Does…anyone know you're here?" I asked hopefully, babysitting a grown man wasn't necessarily on my to-do list.

"Jus' you." He informed.

"Huh." I said dryly. Just my luck.

"Did you know that I counted…like, eight stars up there?" He asked, pointing to the sky childishly.

"That many, huh?" I humored.

He stayed silent, but still restless as he rolled into endless uncomfortable positions on the hood of his car.

"Lyon," I began, "did you ever play hockey?"

"Uh-huh." He answered. "I was really good. Gray was gooder though. Good-er. Better. More good."

"You were supposed to go to the U?" I guessed.

"Yuh-huh. Didn't get accepted."

"So you want Gray to go instead of you?"

"Naw. I want Gray to go cuz' he deserves it, little brat." He told. "An' you ruined…_evrrything…._with the other college…blue angels, or something…"

"Gray doesn't want to go to the U." I reminded.

"Sure 'e does. Just give 'im time." He slurred drunkenly. Man does he smell like my mom on late Friday evenings after she spends the night with her friend 'Margaret', who I'm 99% sure is just a codename for a Margarita.

"I don't really think that's how it works." I said, on the side trying to find his keys. There was no way I could let him drive – no way, I wasn't into property destruction or vehicular homicide.

"Yeah well…you suck." He taunted, before laughing his ass off and slowly sliding off the hood and onto the pavement.

"Do I?" I offered, just to keep him talking. The key wasn't in the ignition…maybe it was in his glove compartment?

"M-hmmmmm. If you weren't so pretty – Gray wouldn't be friends with you either. You're jus' an evil witch." He condemned.

"Uh-huh. Gray friends with a lot of pretty girls?" I squeaked, half to keep him talking and half to seriously find out much-needed information on Gray. Lyon's doors were unlocked, and the key wasn't in the glove compartment. Damn!

"I dunno. Just that Natsu kid-"

"Not in the cup holder…"

"-weird, pink hair-"

"-not in the side pocket either-"

"-and his girlfriend, the one with the legs, or whatever-"

_mm, whatcha say~_

"_What?_" I asked, suddenly dead serious as my hand grasped his collar with the sort of frantic hysterics that only erupt when either Gray or Liam Hemsworth are mentioned.

"Yeah…his girlfriend or something…? Haven't met her yet, I'm sure Gray doesn't wan' mom or dad scarin' her away or nuthin'." He said, grammar abilities slowly fading along with my hopes and dreams of becoming Mrs. Gray Fullbuster.

Son of a _shit _– I had no idea he was dating someone! Little punk-ass bastard, not telling me shit…I'll _kill-_

"'parently she's a big whoop ta him, cuz he won't tell us much 'bout her. Personally, I don' think she's real." Lyon reasoned.

That could be true…but someone as hot as Gray should never have to worry about lying about something so trivial. Hell, he could probably ask a random girl on the street and she'd be a-ok with being his fake girlfriend. I know I would.

"That's…interesting…" Oh god. I hope I didn't sound too choked.

Oh, who am I kidding. He's too goddamn crocked to distinguish any sort of vibes I might've been throwing onto the table.

"Y'know, I _really _thought you liked me…" he said, a hint of sadness ebbing into his already pathetic fuck-me-I'm-drunk voice.

"I really thought Gray was single. I guess we're both getting' the end of the stick here, aren't we?" I asked dryly, digging through the left side pocket of the car inconspicuously.

"Heh-heh. You're kinda funny." He observed.

"Nothin' gets past you!" I said cheerfully, still very car-key-less.

"And you're pretty – so it's like a double." He added.

Yup. I'm about as comparable to a cheeseburger. Thanks, Lyon.

"Where are your keys?" I asked off-handedly, finally giving up on my search.

"It's a secret~" He sang tauntingly. Great. A happy drunk.

"Please? I have to drive you home…" I begged. _Ew_, begged…the thought of me even doing it, to _Lyon _nonetheless, makes me want to rip my own gall bladder out of my ear.

"Hmmm…you'll have to give me somethin' in return~" He said in a sing-songy voice.

"I got a bottle cap." I lied. I didn't have a bottle cap. I just thought it'd be funny if I said I did. And it was.

"Naawwwww…I want somethin' different…" He rapped his knuckles against the hood of the car as he stood up, body and mind wobbly.

"Hm. What about a kidney? I got a spare kidney." I offered, giving my stomach a quick tap to make sure that my kidneys were intact.

"Nooooooo…." He stretched, falling on top of me so that his head was leaning on my shoulder and his body weight was effectively crushing me.

"_Christ _almighty, you're heavy!" I wheezed, pushing him in the opposite direction fruitlessly.

He popped off of me momentarily, before falling back down so his face was directly in between my boobs. Thank _fuck _I was wearing a sweatshirt, otherwise I would've had to exterminate the poor drunk bastard.

"Squishy." He remarked through the fabric of my shirt.

"I know. Great, aren't they? Now get off before I use them as the tools of your demise." I said, afterwards realizing that my chpice of words wouldn't be well comprehended by a drunk person. "…Get off my boobs or I'll strangle you with them."

Apparently that registered somewhere in his alcohol marinated brain. He scooted away woozily and tried to get his eyes to focus back on my face.

"Now. Keys." I demanded, holding my hand out so that maybe if they fell from heaven, and god actually did me a goddamn _favor _instead of laughing his cloud-ass off at my faults, I could catch them.

Lyon grinned cheekily. "Only if you give me a kiss~"

God. He really is a sad, sad little soul, isn't he?

"I'll kiss you right in the pancreas, right after I _rip _it out of your abdomen. Now, car keys please." I said, rather proud of myself. Lyon looked at me blankly, obviously none of my words had made it past the barricade of blood alcohol content.

Instead, he just sort of leaned forward and…landed on my mouth.

It was a sloppy kiss, of course. I wasn't expecting anything different. It probably could've been quite pleasant if he didn't taste like what my dad smelt like after his favorite hockey team lost the Stanley cup a few years back.

But, even though I should've shoved him off of me with enough force to fracture his skull into bone confetti, I instead let my hands wander to his ass, and before you scorn me for acting like a little conniving whore – I had something completely different in mind.

At last! The goddamn keys were in his back pocket!

I snaked my hand into his pocket while Lyon's lips fumbled around my face, missing a few times and hitting my cheek and nose, which could've been totally cute if he was anybody but Lyon.

Once my finger ensnared the car keys, I pulled away from him faster than my dad clearing his internet history when my mom walked in the room.

"Got 'em." I teased, waving them in front of him and cheerfully hopping into the driver's seat.

"You're a bad kisser." He mumbled as he hobbled into the passenger's seat, rather compliantly.

"Takes one to know one." I reasoned, starting up his car smugly.

"Are we going home?" He asked. Huh. I really didn't have an answer for that.

"…Yes." I stated. Sure – going to the Fullbuster's house at nearly midnight would be absolutely _amazing_, not to mention I now had no alibi for my parents. I didn't text Erza, so she's probably asleep, so now I'm _screwed, screwed, screwed-_

"Why…you hit the steerin' wheel like that? It didn't do nuthin' ta you." Lyon asked, and then he started laughing for some strange reason.

"No reason!" I screeched unexpectantly. I meant for my voice to come out much more calm-like, but it sort of fizzled halfway and I just ended up sounding like a concerned mother vulture.

I started driving away quietly, barely climbing past twenty miles an hour. I couldn't afford to draw attention to myself – not with a drunk passenger and no license to cover my tail if we got pulled over.

"My mom…she's gonna be mad…" Lyon informed me diligently.

I had no answer – I just focused on the hauntingly empty roads. We were pretty suburban, so it was rather rare to have any late night activity on the roads. Even on a Saturday night.

After a long period's silence, lyon spoke again.

"Are you goin' the right way…? My house is…my house is _that _way…" He pointed towards a random pine tree and I ignored him. I was fairly confident that I remembered the way, I just had to-

And then, like even my best friend _Satan _had it out for me, the dreaded flashing lights of a cop car pulling out from a ditch rung the bells of my second funeral today.

Only this time, it would more than likely end with me behind bars.

The officer signaled for me to pull over, and I obeyed, having a fit of hysterics and probably something close to minor cardiac arrest while doing so.

I was so screwed. It was past curfew, this wasn't my _car_, there were beer bottles everywhere, I had a drunk passenger, no license…

A flashlight momentarily blinded me and I caught sight of a middle aged and well tanned police officer, glancing at me with an almost familiar concerned crinkle in his eyes.

"License and registration, please?"

Oh god. _Now _I'm panicking. I'm doomed, dead, _doomed_ – I wish I really could just melt into a pathetic little puddle-

"Miss?" He asked, ducking his head so he could see beter in the car. His eyes widened when he saw the empty bottles. "Miss, have you been drinking tonight?"

Then, I sort of…exploded? Is that a good way to put it?

I waved my hands in front of my face in a crazed manner, trying to undo the past hour hastily.

"No, no, no! No, no…my friend here was! I was going to drive him home because he was drunk! So I took his keys – I'm sorry! I don't have my license! This isn't my car – I actually barely even know this guy! I just wanted to help – please don't arrest me, my dad would kill me! My mom too! I can't die twice – I haven't even voted for a president yet! Please-"

In the middle of my monologue thing, Lyon interrupted drunkenly for a hello.

"Hey Mr. Natsu's dad, how's it hangin'?"

_Mr…Natsu's…dad…?_

'Natsu's dad' ducked his head lower to inspect lyon.

"Lyon, is that you? What are you doin' out here, kid?" He asked, suddenly friendly.

"I had…a drink. Or five. But iss… ok Igneel…I'm twenty-two…I'm old enough…" He stumbled.

"Yeah, I know that well enough. Tell you what, I'll give you two an escort back to the Fullbuster place, I owe you the least." He said, nodding to me in thanks for not allowing Lyon to go on a rum rampage.

"So I'm…not…under arrest?" I asked for confirmation.

"No ma'am. You're doing your civic duty, now hup-to-it." He said, reminding me kinda of a happy little elf. Kind of like Natsu when he wasn't sending me infrared hatred signals.

I sighed outwardly, loosening my grip on the steering wheel and regaining the peachy skin color in my whitened knuckles.

"Aw, I don' wanna go _home._" Lyon whined, flailing his limbs in the air like an upset baboon.

"We're not going home," I reassured, mostly for my own personal safety, "We're going to a…club…"

I waited for Igneel to return to his car before driving again. For the remainder of the drive, I stuck to the book and drove like a model citizen (aka driving the opposite of how my mom does) stopping at every stop sign for a few seconds even though no one was present. I could not afford to go to jail. I couldn't afford to lose my limbs to my father's butcher knife before the age of 50.

When I pulled up into the Fullbuster's driveway silently, Lyon freely expressed his disappointment.

"_Awww_…I thought we were going _clubbing_…" he moaned.

"Oh, come on Lyon even you're not that dumb. Where the hell are we gonna find a club in the middle of the suburbs, eh? You into driving for sixty miles- _heeeyyy_, Mr. Dragneel…" I cut off my lecture halfway at the sight of the homely cop.

He chuckled warmly, the way a real dad should, not the off-pitch cackle my dad had.

"Don't stop on my account. The boy needs some sense knocked into him." He stopped to scratch his head, "say, you aren't his girlfriend, are ya?"

"_No_!" I said, a bit too quickly and disgustedly. "I mean…no…I hardly even know him.=, actually…"

Igneel's rust colored eyebrows knitted together. "But you knew where he lived?"

"I know Gray." I said, a little bit of pride creeping into my voice. Like I was saying '_ha! Take that world – Juvia actually knows someone hot!' _(besides Erza, Lucy, Levy and Lisanna…I guess).

"Ah. I don't suppose you know my son, Natsu?" He asked, actually letting the pride flood his voice like the fucking Hoover Dam broke.

"…Doesn't ring a bell!" I told guiltily.

"That's too bad. You're a mighty nice girl, do ya need a ride home?" He asked.

"Uhh…" _Shit. _What the fuck was I supposed to do now? I had nowhere to go - I couldn't go home_, god no, _I preferred to keep my internal organs…you know, internal.

I had but one choice. One, humiliating, mortifying choice, that could make or break my relationship with Gray.

"That's alright, I already told my parents I'd be here!" I said, with my winning liar's smile. He fell for it like a charm and bid us goodnight.

"Let's get you inside," I told Lyon, reaching for his seat belt buckle.

"No! Don' wanna!" He fought, slapping my hand away and childishly covering his buckle so I couldn't cut him loose.

"Fine! I'll go inside _without you_!" I said haughtily, unbuckling my own seatbelt and storming off.

"Fine!" Lyon called back, in spite of me.

I dug my feet into the light colored pavement in front of the Fullbuster's door, wondering if I should ring the doorbell or just knock.

It's at times like that I wish I would've gotten Gray's phone number. Fuckity shit! What if nobody answers? They should all be asleep now anyways!

I cut off my mind ramble by straight up stabbing the doorbell with my fingernail.

_There. It's done. Now feel free to jump off a goddamn cliff, you idiot. _

To prevent myself from slipping into a coma, I started humming Uptown Funk. You know, so I'd annoy myself back into consciousness. What was it, like…midnight thirty?

I was about to ring the doorbell once more, when I saw the doorknob shift slowly, almost scaring my eyeballs out of my sockets.

Of course, like Jesus, Buddha and co. all hated my guts and wanted me to burn in the fiery pits of Satan's asshole, Gray Fullbuster, evidently sleep-deprived and shirt riding up so that I got a peek of his tanned, lickable abs, answered the door, ruffling his dark hair so that he could see better.

On a completely unrelated note, I think I may have brain damage.

He mumbled something incoherent, probably along the lines of _'what the fuck are you doing at my house you creepy stalker'_ and yawned. He's the only person to ever exist who could yawn without looking like a complete douchebag.

"J…uvia? What are you doing here?" His sleep-crackled voice asked, making my brain explode like a popcorn kernel. Also, the sleep-drunk way he said my name pronouncing the 'J' all smooth and French, like _Jemappelle, _god is he ever delicious.

"I brought you a present~" I said, like the idiot I was.

"Wh…at? Birthday sex?" Even in his half-awake state, I could sense his familiar teasing nature.

"Even better!" I replied with a slightly sadistic cackle. "C'mon, you have to come to the driveway to see it…"

"Aw, why?" He asked, hobbling bare-footed onto the sidewalk.

"Cuz' I can't lift it without your help…" I muttered.

Without further ado, I jumped in front of Lyon's car and made some fancy jazz hands to present my gift to Gray.

"Is that…" His eyes squinted, "…Lyon?"

"Yup. Drunk as a skunk." I confirmed, leading the way to the passenger seat where he was still frowning.

"Oh…my _god…_" he remarked, suddenly 100% alert of his surroundings. "How did you even…"

"It's a long story," I cut him off. "Now help me get him out."

Gray groaned and opened the passenger door to greet his drunk-as-fuck brother.

"_Graaaayyy~ _your girlfriend lied to me!" He whined.

"Oh, shut up, dumbass." In one swift movement, Gray unbuckled Lyon and in an excellent display of his lovely arm muscles, he hoisted Lyon out of the car.

"_Wheee~_" Lyon yelled, sagging in Gray's arms like a rag doll.

"Oh, _god_…" Gray grumbled, lifting him up a bit higher and dragging his limp ankles on the ground.

"Hey…hey _Gray_…" Lyon hiccupped his brother's name as Gray opened the door. "Your girlfriend grabbed my ass…and she's a bad kisser _hehehehhh…_"

It was a damn good thing that it was as dark as my soul and Gray wasn't facing me, because the color of my face no doubt was a shade similar to a fucking radish.

"No! I mean…I was trying to get his keys. And he kind of missed my lips anyway, he just got mostly…face." I explained quickly.

"Sorry you had to go through that." Gray said, weirdly stiff and without eye contact.

"Trust me, I'm sorry too." I mumbled in a less-than-coherent manner.

Gray held the door open for me, thank god, and heaved Lyon upstairs to his room. I patiently waited in the doorway, contemplating how I would ask him.

_Hey Gray – this is a bit awkward, because I have a massive-ass crush on you and might die in the middle of the night, but could I crash here for the night so my parents don't dismember me? That'd be pretty great…_

I'm telling you now, it's pretty difficult to sink lower than me at this point.

Gray jumped down the stairs after a few minutes, a relieved expression on his face.

"Man is he _annoying_," he said casually, like it was everyday that I hauled his drunk brother home at midnight, "it's a damn good thing my parents are such heavy sleepers. My dad snores sometimes, so I guess they sort of…evolved. It's freaky the shit they don't hear." He said, with an added wink because of the inherently intended sex joke.

What a dorky dork.

"Yeah, yeah…so, I gotta ask you something…" I squeaked, expressing my awkwardness by winning a staring contest with the floor. "Could I-"

"Sure." Gray said, before I could even finish. "I owe you anyways – mom would've called one of her 'emergency family meetings' if we had to pick Lyon up from the drunk tank. And don't give me that look! It's happened before, and it ain't pretty, I can tell you that much." He said with an added chuckle.

"Uhhhhh…." I dragged on, shocked by his weird sixth sense.

"C'mon, I don't have any _girl _clothes, but you can probably wear somethin' of mine…" he walked up to his room and I about had a mental breakdown. He's so fucking perfect, and kind, and _chivalrous, _god _dammit_, is he even fucking real?

"You comin'?" He asked from upstairs.

"Y-yeah…" I croaked, grabbing the railings on the steps for balance. Without it, I would've surely fallen on my face in awe of the godly creature who'd allowed my gross, disgusting presence to seep into his beautiful home.

I dragged myself up the stairs, crippled, and crawled down the hallway to his room. Before I even pulled my sorry ass into his bedroom, a white t-shirt hit me in the face, along with some shorts that would in no way, shape, or form fit me, under any circumstances, ever.

"You know where the bathroom is. I'll setcha' up in my room." He called out.

And then, without warning, I began choking to death.

I mean, _honestly, _was he _attempting _to murder me? Was this premeditated? Does he even _realize _that every fucking word that comes out of his attractive mouth is stabbing me in the fucking bladder, without any mercy or regret.

_God. _I mean, _really. _I have done shit to nothing to deserve this. I mean, besides that one time I found a five-leaf clover when I was seven.

Oh my god. This was it, wasn't it? The five leaf clover's revenge – doomed to forever live my life in the glorious shadow of Gray Fullbuster while he basked in the sunlight of gorgeous (and probably naked) ladies constantly throwing themselves at him, while I fed off the gross algae looking stuff that grew in his ephemeral twin.

I swear to _god_ – I will never murder a plant again if Gray Fullbuster just gets the hell away from me right now – or _dies_ – either one would be acceptable.

"-ok?" I kissed the first word he said, but I assumed it had been 'you'. Oh yeah, I have kind of been choking this entire time.

"Uh…allergies." I mumbled before skittering off into the bathroom to change.

The clothing was, just as I predicted, _far _too big for me. I had a spare ponytail holder to pull up the shorts, which went a little bit past my thighs. The shirt just hung low like a dress, so sure, I looked like the dead body of a hobo, but I was covered, at least.

I crept out of the bathroom silently and into Gray's room. His bed was neatly folded – where I assumed he wanted me to sleep.

Yup. _Definitely _premeditated. Mark Gray Fullbuster down for first degree murder.

A foot or two away was a makeshift bed down, where he was lying down, already pretty much asleep. Cute.

I slid into his bed guiltily, reminding myself to thank him about a thousand times before I left tomorrow.

"Hey Juvia?' He asked sleepily.

"Eh?" I uttered unintelligibly.

"I forgot to ask you – what happened at the swim meet? Did you freeze up or something?" He asked, although with the level of suspicion in his voice I'm pretty sure he realized that there was more to it than that.

"Yeah." I agreed bitterly.

"Oh. Touchy subject, I guess. You kinda disappeared after your race, and I thought you looked upset…" He recalled.

"Yeah, well…you'd be upset too, I guess." I said, admittedly feeling a tad guilty for snapping at him. Especially since I had stolen his bed.

"Oh yeah, by the way, I forgot to ask you something!" He jumped up out of his makeshift bed like a reawakened zombie.

"Huh?" I asked, vaguely remembering him wanting to tell me something at some point last week, moments before I chewed him out for something he hadn't even done. "Uh, by all means…"

"So, as you probably know, buzz of the school and all, the hockey state tournament starts next weekend." He began, as excited as I was the first time I came over to his house, "and, I know it's kind of a lot to ask I guess, but…are you gonna go? I know it's kinda far away, but-"

"Yes!" I interrupted, immediately cursing myself for sounding so eager. "I mean…how could I miss it?" I covered with a lame fake laugh.

"Yeah – it's in the Capitol and everything. I'm really…excited." He chose his last word carefully, although I had serious doubts he chose the right one.

"Are you nervous?" I pried, his excitement was a little bit catchy.

"I mean, yeah. But the first game I know we can win, we beat them before in a scrimmage." He let out, seemingly happy by my amount of interest.

"Hm. Will it still be exciting?" I inquired, drawing squares on the wall with my toes like I had the first time I was here.

"'Course. Honestly Juvia, is there ever a moment when you're with me and it's _not _exciting?" He asked, surely with that smug smile to accompany it.

If only he knew. I was nearly always moments away from death whenever he was near.

"However could I forget?" I asked both him and myself.

"Must be early stage dementia. You've got a frail 'lil brain, Juvia."

"Well this 'frail little brain' got you a one-way ticket to college, so you better shut your yap, buster."

"Well this yap might be shut if I was sleeping in my own bed."

"…Touché…"

I heard him yawn and remembered that it was indeed far past my bedtime.

"Go to bed Gray." I said, giggling a little bit as his arms reached for the sky like a baby waking from its nap.

"Hey…Juvia…?" He asked softly.

"Hm?"

"I…sorry, I'm just really glad you're my friend. It's weird, that I didn't know you until this year. I kinda wish I could've met you sooner." He dreamed aloud, sending mini needles into the depths of my lungs.

"Th-thanks…I guess…" I swallowed heavily to keep from screaming at the top of my lungs and tossing myself out his window.

"Neh, 'night Juvia." He mumbled, burying his face into his pillow.

My heart swelled a little bit, and I almost choked to godamned death on my own feels. If I didn't want to bone him so bad, I'd probably adopt him and keep him in my dragon lair for all eternity.

I dug my face into his pillow, sniffing the fresh Gray-smell and almost wetting the floofy object with my tears. With one last press of my toe against the wall, I shut my eyes and dreamt pleasant dreams of sugar Grays with cherries on top.

Just kidding. Although a dream like that would be pretty fuckin' cool…

* * *

I woke up to the smell of pancakes, a smell I only recognized because my mom cooks pancakes whenever she accidentally bounces a check.

But I'm not in my house, am I?

I lazily drooped my hand to the side of Gray's bed, stretching out my toes and grinning slyly.

Gray was still asleep, thank god. If he had to see my bedhead I might've killed him just to put him out of his misery right then and there.

That reminds me. How the hell am I gonna explain the fact that I slept in Gray's room to his parents?

Maybe we could pull the late studying card…or the late night partying parents? Maybe I could say something about my parents being in the hospital or something?

I sat up and stretched my aching limbs. Gray probably didn't own a hairbrush, so hopefully Ultear might have one to borrow. For now, I'll just have to finger brush my blue crow's nest.

I kicked Gray in the shoulder lightly so that he could help me brainstorm an excuse to offer his parents.

"Hmm…beat it, Ultear…" he mumbled drowsily.

"It ain't Ultear, cupcake." I corrected, pulling my hair into a ponytail to disguise its impossibility.

"Hm? Oh yeah, you." He groaned, like I was the world's biggest burden.

"Yeah, it's the girl who saved your brother from arrest! Let's act like a douchebag to her – _that'll _be beneficial." I mocked, ruffling his hair mostly just because I wanted to feel it. Hm. It was still soft, even in the morning. Lucky-ass bastard.

He finally sat up, throwing the blankets off of his body before flopping back down onto the floor.

"D'ya want any girly shit from Ultear's room?" He asked groggily.

"A hairbrush would be great." I responded.

"Kay. Be right back – stay here, or you might get ambushed by my dad or something." He warned.

"Gotcha." I replied.

Not _even _a minute later, Gray's bedroom door crashed open.

"Oh my _god_!" Ultear shrieked. I stared at her like a deer in the headlights, and Gray came racing behind her, tackling her like she was a thirty year old man instead of a thirteen year old girl.

"Jesus! Gray, you're gonna murder her!" I yelped, peeling his body off of hers.

"Gray, did you _sleep with her? _Gross! You guys are gonna get pregnant or something!" She babbled. Gray slapped a hand over her mouth and sent me a look that said '_can I kill her yet?'_.

"Ultear, we did not sleep together – she drove Lyon home after…after his thing…and she didn't have a ride back, so I let her crash here, ok? Calm down…just…calm down…" he slowly lifted his hand off of her mouth, positively slimy, and wiped it on her shirt.

"…but you guys slept in the same room?"

"Yes, dammit, it's not that big of a deal-"

"-and you guys _aren't _dating? Holy sh-"

"Nope. Nope, nope, _nope. _Now _out_, ya little weasel!" He prompted her out with a pert little push, and then tossed me a pink plastic hairbrush. "Go nuts."

"So," I began, running the brush through my snarls gently. "How're we gonna explain this to your parents?"

"Just tell them you came here early for studying. My mom'll buy it – she loves you. And if my mom buys it, dad will too." He explained away easily.

"Ok…can you grab me my clothes?" I asked. He threw my stuff at me generously, slapping me in the face with the fabric. "Thanks."

"Welcome.' He said with a cheeky grin. Dammit. Damn him and his friendship. Damn him and his adamancy towards making sweet, sweet love to me!

Once I finished getting dressed, I followed Gray into the kitchen, rehearsing my lines in my head.

_Ok Juvia, play it up, you're just a geeky chic who wants to study for business class – nothing more, nothing less…_

"Morning Gray! You're up kind of late, did you-" Gray's mom paued when she saw me follow him through the kitchen. I offered her an awkward wave and she waved back.

"Juvia! What are you doing here?" She asked, setting the bowl of pancake mix down curiously.

"Came to study early, I hope I'm not intruding or anything…" I said, trying to play the guilty card, and it worked really well, because I did genuinely feel guilty.

"Nonsense dear, we're glad to have you – come on, sit down! It's not every day that Gray is sought out as a teacher…" Gray's mom gushed proudly, ushering us to the kitchen table. "Now where's Lyon? Honestly, that boy is a grown man and can't even-"

"Uh, he was studying pretty late for a job interview, so he might not be up for a while." Gray piped up.

"…Oh. Oh, that's wonderful! I'll let him sleep then – Gray, get your pants out of here, honestly, it's like you leave your laundry _everywhere_," Gray's mom grumbled, retrieving the pants that had called the kitchen floor their home and tossing them into a basket by the stairs.

"Silver! Get in the kitchen now, we have a guest! And for god's sake, _please _have some pants on!" Gray's mom shook her head and gave me a secret look. "It's impossible to get those boys to keep their pants on around here, really."

"_Mom_," Gray complained, but I was already giggling. Every little piece I got to learn about Gray's life outside of school made my stomach flutter in an extremely dangerous way – I should probably tread lightly unless I want to end up as a liquid.

Silver hobbled into the kitchen, lazily buttoning up his pants and placing a quiet kiss onto his wife's forehead.

"Hey Gray, you seen the remote?" He asked gruffly, taking a seat across the table. "Hey Juvia."

I felt my eyes widen that he had actually remembered my name. My dad just called all my friends Natalie when he forgot their names.

"Uh, morning Mr. Fullbuster." I greeted with an excited stab into my pancake's flesh. Violent, ain't I?

"How was your swim meet? I'm sorry I didn't make it – Ultear had some girly _thing_-"

"You mean her trip to the mall?" Gray's mom interrupted.

"Yeah. Pure torture it was – had no idea voices could get that high-pitched. Sides, she only dragged me around cuz I had a wallet." Silver admitted with a chuckle.

"Uh…my swim meet was…" I choked on my own pride. Luckily, my knight in shining sweatpants came to my rescue.

"-It was great. Won a lot of rounds. I can imagine her next meet will be even better, right?" Gray looked at me for confirmation.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that there wouldn't be a next time.

"Yeah." I agreed, looking down at my massacred pancake for a distraction.

"Mom, I just went down to Lyon's room. I think he might be decomposing." Ultear appeared at the table with a tiny wrinkled bunny nose.

"He's just tired dear. Come and eat and leave your brother alone." Ur advised, lightly shoving her daughter into the kitchen table.

Gray had a finger over his lips to keep from laughing. Lyon hardly deserved any sort of praise at the moment, I supposed he thought it to be an ironic twist.

"You gonna make it to state this weekend?' Silver asked, making gruff conversation as he devoured his pancake like an angry t-rex.

I guessed that he was talking to me, by process of elimination.

"Definitely." I answered.

"Your parents ain't gonna make a fuss bout missing school?" He asked.

"Nah. My dad would rather execute me than let me go to school on a day when I could be watching hockey." Oops. That was rather morbid for the breakfast table.

His eyebrow raised up. "Your dad a fan?"

I began laughing hysterically. "A fan would be a serious understatement. He missed my kindergarten graduation _and _was late to my own _birth _because of a hockey game." The last part was true, but that was because he was actually _playing _hockey. I suppose he was rather good at in high school, so I gave him leeway when he'd skip something of mine to watch a game – I had sort of thrown a wrench into his sporting career by coming into existence. It wasn't exactly my fault – but I'd take a little bit of the blame, especially considering they didn't give me up for adoption or anything. I'd say we're about even.

"Huh. I've never seen him around with the other guys – what's his name?" Silver asked, like he had his own well-aged group of old dads discussing hockey games, not unlike my mom's 'support group', or whatever the hell she was trying to pass off her obvious wine-o friends as.

"Mark Lockser. He uh…he doesn't really hang out with dads that much." I admitted, trying not to offend him. At his look of confusion, I offered up a muddled explanation. "He's thirty-five. He feels a little…left out when he hangs out with kids my age's dads…"

Gray's dad began choking on a sizable pancake lump at the bit of information I'd squeezed past him.

"For god's sake Silver, _chew_!" Gray's mother advised, giving him a hearty slap-on-the-back before returning to the kitchen to grab a tub of butter.

"Thirty-five, huh? That's…awesome…" Silver recovered, trying not to sound judgmental. I appreciated his lenience towards my father's age and nodded.

We ate in comfortable silence after that, save the foot-war that was going on between Ultear and Gray (they did a shit job of trying to hide it, too) and Silver's mumbling about his _'damned kids' _under his breath.

It was…nice.

It was strange too, strange how even though I hardly knew these people, everything just felt so…right? I guess?

Ok, fine – so that sounded dumb. I'm man enough to say my bad. But the inkling of a feeling was still there – even if Gray never came to love me, maybe I'd be alright with just being his friend.

Just kidding. I'll die of rabies before that happens.

After I had successfully mooched breakfast, a bed, and clothes off of the Fullbuster family, I only stayed an hour or two more until I had figured that I had mooched enough for one day.

Besides, I had helped Gray out a little by saving his brother's drunk ass and reading his business class flashcards for like an hour. You give a little, you get a little. In this case, I got a lot. But it didn't matter anyways, because he said thanks and did some other cute stuff that I can't really remember because my brain was on lockdown after I saw him blush. He could've pulled a gun to my head and fired seven shots into my temporal lobe and it would've taken hours for me to finally register that I was dead.

So now, I was free of swimming, free of Evergreen – but obviously not free of my obsession with Gray. And I was not one step past the geologically drawn boundary of '_friends'. _

Honestly. Fuck that boy and everything he stands for.

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**fuckfuckfuck I had the _whole _authors note typed out and then stupid doc manager stuck a knife through my cornea ok**

**also wow um ok I attempted to answer reviews in pms but kinda failed? im just gonna answer in chaps bc its easier for me**

**(I HAVE TO ANSWER ALL OF THEM FEEL FREE TO YELL AT ME IF I MISS URS OR SOMETHIN)**

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Leaffeather: THANKS I BROKE THE SCALE IL Y

fireXmaiden: thanksthanks I missed out on jellalvia action on this chapter but ill bring him back eventually...NO ITS NOT AWKWARD AT ALL LOTS OF LOVE

Guest: eat pixy stix, they r vv healthy I promise. I WILL BUY U A RING NO JOKE. ALSO YEAH IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THAT CLICHE TOO IM GONNA PUT A LIL TWIST ON IT BUT YEAH NEXT CHAPTER I PROMISE GRAY WILL SAVE THE DAAYYY

LateNightShips: so much for update soon omg...but thank you anywayyy! ily

everyone: cool story bro

Kiri: (I HAVE TO ANSWER ALL OF THEM I HAVE TO IT IS MY LEGAL DUTY) (THESE ARE IN CHRON ORDER OLDEST TO YOUNGEST BTW) HAHA FLAMES theyre great lol. you got the theme of this story right too. fuck shit up. that's the goddamn theme.

dragnoots: (u change ur name?) breaking juvias legs would've been a happy alternative. _I made a drunk lyon lord in mercy save me? _also yeah I stuck with my pokemon references. idc what u say. the jigglypuff thing _works _dammit. STING WILL RULE THE NEXT CHAP I SWEAR. ps. wedding is in june.

Kiri: yes im the child who googles plotlines. maybe ill read ft this summer when I have time? end of school is on the tenth, so maybe ill try it out then? wow that's a lot of question marks ill stop now

Kiri: I SAW THE SYNCHRONIZED STRIP ON MY DASH LIKE 0.09875 SECONDS AFTER YOU MENTIONED IT AND I? GRUVIA BROKE MY FEELS I

Laudi14:thanksthanks ill try to updte faster next time uwu ily

Kiri: U WIN THE PRIIIIZE ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS YAYAY

Kiri: master gray sounds kinky as hell damn juvia. hiatus was kinda short, but I figured id let u guys no so I wouldn't look like an asshole just leavin yall hanging. (OH MY GOSH DONT READ MY OTHER STUFF ITS BAD I PROMISE HFCGVHKJGFJHKLKG)

NeverInUrWildestDreams: thank u! I added what gray wanted to tell her in here (that was actually a mistake of mine last chap lol) I have a secret thing for navia but I don't know if ill have any in this fic. (also yes jealous gray is next chap p much) ilyyyy!

gruuuvia: thank you! I love writing asshole lyon. and drunk lyon. idk, I like it when lyons character doesn't revolve around juvia.

Kiri: ivE Always WaNted a StAlKeR yyAYayaYaAYa this review actually reminded me that I was gonna post it on here so thank uuu LITERALLY ME AS HELL THOUGH. my dad is super protective and I barely got by with an email...(if he knew I wrote underground fanfiction id be shut down so fast I wouldn't even have time to say fuck) but keep with it! get an email soon and tAlK To mE

Guest: OK I WILLL ILY

Kiri: psh. I needed to break my writing record so I had to go for 11000. it almost killed me. _almost. _also yeah DATE ME

Kiri: I edited sooo much yesterday 200000000 dollars says there are still a ton of mistakes but fuCK IT

Kiri: DCFVGBYUNIO U R SICK DONT DIE I WILL BE SO SAD AND I WONT EVEN KNOW FHJKLLIUYTRDBKBIIJE ; E HU IU but lol yeah this update sucked disappointment pretty much

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**if I didn't answer your review, I probably pmd you! (sorry this update kinda sucked, but im excited for the next chap bc shit actually _happens_. what do you guys think? only five chapters left (rough estimate) and thnk you for your constant support! I love all of you !**

**EDIT 6/2/15**

**JUST REALIZED I USED TH DOCUMENT SO NONE OF THE REVIEW RESPONSES WERE THERE I AM SOOO SORRY BUT I FIXED IT SO YEAH IM A MESS**


	10. Tournament Blues

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE CONTINUING**

**this is most ****_definitely _****a filler chapter. sorry, it was necessary. but the next chapter is going to be exciting, i promise :3**

**other sidenotes: i am far too deep into the stuvia brotp...fuck...also this chapter is in lots of bits ad pieces so hope u guys r ok with that**

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"Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and-"

"Wow, dad. Literally, not _even _five minutes ago. We established no singing." I said, outrightly pointing to the post-it note pasted on top of the radio dial.

"Come on Juvia, don't you wanna _jam _with your old man?" He asked jokingly, hitting the horn to the beat of the song.

"Dad, that's an excellent way to get shot." I informed, watching the other drivers get mildly aggravated by my dad's horn abuse.

"Aw, you're not gettin' it. You see, I'm just trying to _get it on _like all the young kids nowadays-"

"Jesus Christ, dad, I thought I could get at _least _another good year out of you before you turned into one of _those _dads." I snarled, turning up the radio to tune out his tone-deaf antics.

"Well if you're going to be rude about it, I guess I have no choice but to turn to _Rush_." My dad threatened, cranking the radio up to an ungodly number and probably deafening several forest animals in the process.

Rush was my dad's signature old man band, he pretty much bought all their merch, watched all their movies, rage listened to every CD, he'd even seen them in concerts a few times.

Frankly, it was horrifying.

"Just tell me when we get there," I groaned, pulling my neck pillow so it stretched around my head and covered up my ears.

It was Thursday, and the first official day of the tournament was tomorrow. My mom had forced me to go to school today, but the second I got home my dad drop-tackled me and threw me into the car like a sack of old potatoes. He had gotten reservations at a booked hotel, only because we ordered a single person room, all of the double and up rooms were reserved for other people coming to the tournament from farther out Fiore. Mom told me he only scored the reservations because he cried on the phone and the hotel booking person gave him a room that was supposed to be used for some sort of extra holding room.

So yeah. I'd sort of lucked out, I got to skip school tomorrow to watch hockey (with my dad…) and get quality look-at-Gray time. Aka filling my eye sockets with pure gold and forcibly shoving buckets of precious metals into my tear ducts. Brilliant.

My phone buzzed. Ew. That's right. Fabio would be there too.

_WHY RNT U HERE YET?/!?_

Sting is such an eloquent texter, I swear.

_my mom made me go to school today. chill._

I sent it to him, knowing full well Sting wouldn't heed my advice.

_asdfghjjhecvghdcv but i hate everbody here cum save me bby_

Ew. I pretty much hate him.

_shut up. i need a nap, ill b there in like an hour._

I sent the last text to Sting and rested my head against the rest.

_ok, luv u daddy._

My face wrinkled up in discomfort. He truly was excellent at resurrecting all of my deepest fears.

_gross get ur daddy kink away from me._

And, with one final text to send me off to sleep, Sting reminded me of how much he loved teasing.

_;)_

.

.

.

Two and a half hours and seven bathroom stops later (fucking dad and his peanut bladder), I crawled into the hotel, my arm firmly wrapped around my pillow and the hood of my hoodie covering my wicked witch face.

If I looked like how I felt, I'd probably look like the human version of asbestos.

"Hey, I'm gonna go grab the room key. You guard our bags." My dad instructed, making the 'I'm watching you' motion with his hands. I saluted him and collapsed into the waiting room.

I hoarded the bags next to me and kicked my feet on top of them, because I'm a cool kid. There were a bunch of kids my age in the lobby, too, but much closer to where they were handing out complimentary muffins and decaf coffee.

Ooh, don't mind if I do~

I ignored the voice in the back of my head telling me to return to my post guarding the bags with the logic of 'no one wants to steal my shit anyways'. I needed a muffin, god fucking dammit.

Apparently, I love embarrassing myself, because I clearly looked like I deserved a starring role in night of the living dead, yet I still surfed through the crowd of above average looking hockey guys without even a second glance. Because muffins.

The muffins were huge and wrapped in clear plastic wrap. I grabbed a chocolate chip one and scurried back to my bags eagerly.

My phone started ringing and I was tempted to ignore it. But I couldn't stand my bra vibrating like crazy, so I yanked my phone out of it and hit accept.

I got a few weird looks from the hockey boys. What? Never seen a girl use her bra for storage before? Dicks.

"Hello?"

"_Juvia! You've gotta help me!"_

Jesus Christ.

"Is your junk caught in the zipper again?" I asked wryly, no doubt earning myself a few more confused stares from la casa de hot guys.

"_No! I can't figure out how to turn on the shower in my room! Come help me!"_

I sighed. "Sting, I _just _got here."

"_Great! I'm in room 335, I'll let you in-"_

"God, would you at least let me settle in?" I requested. He made a grumbling sound.

"_Fine. But I still haven't the slightest clue how to use this shower. There's no…buttons!"_

I laughed a little bit. "Goodbye, Sting."

_"__Bye Juvia."_

I hung up on him halfway through my name. We had the strangest relationship, I swear.

My dad came in shortly after, babbling about some hockey person he saw in the parking lot and how he was so excited for the tournament, blah, blah, blah.

"We're the last room on the third floor, they don't have that many single rooms, so they're always on the end of the hall." My dad explained as we boarded the elevator. At least we weren't on the first floor, I can tell you from personal experience that the only thing that happens on the first floor is foot stomping and screaming children on their way to the pool.

Despite everything, the hotel was extremely fancy. Like I-really-can't-believe-my-dad-can-afford-this fancy. Not that we were poor, it was just…opulent.

Each double room and up had a fun little collage on the door as we walked past them, it didn't take me long to realize that they were the hockey player's pictures and team numbers. We were walking past Hargeon's team right now I could tell because of the red-and-blue paper and the glittery words _go swordfish! _on each poster.

"I know that guy!" My dad pointed to one of the collages and began rattling off statistics like the hockey player was some world of warcraft character. Almost impressive dad, almost.

A little bit past Hargeon's team was our team, East Magnolia Bullsharks. Of _course _I lucked out and got the same level as our team, because the first thing I want in the morning is to wake up to a bunch of sweaty fuckboys. And Gray.

Right. Gray sort of balances that out.

My eyes followed each name poster, trying to find Gray's so I could evaluate exactly how far away he was from my room and exactly how many bags I'd need to hyperventilate into.

I passed Sting's room as well. He was really fucking photogenic.

Gray's room was six away from mine, and on the opposite side of the wall. I stopped short in front of his room and admired his pictures. There was one of him and his family when he was younger, holding up a hockey trophy. It looked like one of his skates was buried into Lyon's head, but it was still really cute.

"Is that a muffin?" My dad asked behind me, also admiring Gray's photos. Oh. I had almost forgotten about that.

I unwrapped the muffin while simultaneously drooling over Gray's poster, a shiny number 13 plastered at the top. I touched the muffin to my lips, inhaled its sweet muffin scent, licked a chocolate chip-

And threw the muffin with everything I had at the door. It broke into a bunch of little muffin pieces in a very climactic way and made a huge mess all in front of Gray's door.

It was a raisin. It was a _god damn _raisin muffin. A poison shit muffin from hell.

"We should probably go." My dad said.

"Yup." I agreed hastily. Hopefully no one important witnessed that.

.

.

.

The first game was early tomorrow morning at eight. They would be going against the Galuna Island Demons. I heard that they were fairly good, too, and they were from way off state so we had no gauge to judge them by.

Oh well. I'd managed to tame my hair and make myself look averagely presentable, at least as far as that goes, and I had decided to take a tour, courtesy of Sting.

My dad was napping in the hotel room. Probably too much stimulation, at this rate I'd have to lock him up in a crate like a goddamn Labrador.

"And _this_, milady, is _my _room. We have plenty of packaged snacks, if you're ever interested." Sting wiggled his eyebrows like twinkies were the equivalent of an orgy and I almost ended him right then and there.

"Moving on, as you can see, all of our team players are situated on the third floor. Including our number one cheerleader, Juvia Lockser, who _will be_ required to wear a bikini throughout the entire tournament-_yowch_ what was that for?" Sting blanched after I smacked him in the head. Dorkus.

"Quit dorking around." I demanded. He shrugged.

"Fine, fine. Let's go see the pooool, I think I saw a bunch of shirtless guys…" Sting cackled.

We hitchhiked down the elevator (pissing off some mom in the process – it wasn't _my _fault Sting pressed every button there was.) Then we walked to the pool in the most flamboyant way possible.

"Race ya," Sting challenged, raising a blond eyebrow so that his scar jerked upwards. I nodded and shot down the hallway. There was no _way _I was gonna let that yellow weasel beat me at anything sports related – _ever._

Sting kicked his leg to the side and I nimbly made a bunny jump and pulled ahead of him.

"Did you just try to trip me?!" I accused. His laughing confirmed my suspicion, only adding fuel to the fire.

I beat him by a half a second, he insisted that he had arrived before me. Cocky asshole.

"Ooh, check it out. See any tens in there?" Sting asked, pressing his cheek up against the glass of the pool door and fogging it up with his breath.

"There's so many…dudes." I commented lamely. Seriously. If Lucy were here (and not infinitely pissed at me) she would yell at me for not jumping at the chance to go bikini surfing on a bunch of hot abs.

Not that I know exactly what that means.

"Man I love tournaments." Sting gurgled under his breath. Maybe I should go muffin fishing again, they can't _all _be raisin-

"What the hell are you two doing?"

Sting and I turned around like we had just been caught in the middle of sex. Loke, one of the team members who I had mild tolerance for, was standing shirtless and seemingly waiting for us to escort him into the pool.

"Tour." Sting answered succinctly. Loke looked doubtful. Maybe his gaydar was on point too.

"Hey, you look familiar. Weren't you dating Gray for a while?" He asked curiously. I felt my heart take a bow and wave to an imaginary crowd at the very thought of someone believing I was anywhere near Gray's league. Even if he implied we weren't together any longer, it was still an _honor _to be Mrs. Gray Fullbuster material.

"No, she's here for _me_." Sting said possessively. I pinched his arm.

"That's not what he asked. And no, Gray and I are just friends." I explained,

A few other hockey players from Magnolia East followed Loke. Thank god I didn't still look like Dracula.

"Uh. Well, if you're not busy, you should come swim with us." Loke said, voice in the kind of smarmy tone that made me not want to do anything with him ever.

"Nah, she's too busy practicing her cheer routine for us tomorrow. She's still gonna wear her bikini though." Sting joked. Loke raised an eyebrow at me.

"What color?" Some guy asked from behind Loke. Jesus Christ.

"The color of your blood." I answered. I got a few laughs, probably because they weren't used to women not enjoying their little fuckboy burlesque house, or whatever the hell was going on here.

"Man, she sure _loves _to threaten people," Sting laughed, "Juvia, let's go make some hot chocolate."

I nodded and cut through the crowd of shirtless hockey boys. I think I accidentally touched like three sets of abs. _'Accidentally'._

"Hey, Juvia, you made it?'

Instantly I felt self conscious. Did my hair look ok? Was my makeup acceptable in public?

"Y-yup. Told you I wouldn't miss it." My heart skipped like, seven beats.

Ouch. My eyes are starting to water. Seriously, who told him it was alright to walk around without a shirt and a towel draped over your shoulder? I can physically feel my body melting_– _Sting is gonna have to _drag _me back to my room.

"Sorry I'm late guys, someone threw a _muffin _at my door." Gray crinkled his eyes at the strangeness of the attack.

"How weird." I laughed awkwardly. Oops.

"It was probably those damn Galuna Island punks, they're _scared _of you, Fullbuster." Sting, surprisingly, covered my ass. Then again, he didn't know that I was the muffin culprit.

"Yeah, haha, hilarious, _let's go Sting_," I prodded through gritted teeth. My eyes had lingered _far _too long on Gray's chest, another second and he would've caught me and I would've died and Sting would've had to bury me in the backyard or something. I don't know, just seeing that much…_Gray_ has my mind fuzzier than a cotton candy cloud.

"Whoa, you know _Sting_?" Gray asked before I could escape nonchalantly. Fan-fucking-tastic Gray. I thought I could count on you, you goddamn handsome asshole.

"I'm offended that you sound so surprised, Gray. Juvia is my closest confidante and possible surrogate." Sting said, rubbing my stomach sensually.

A look crossed Gray's face that I couldn't quite decipher. Hatred? Love? Confusion? Probably the latter.

"Shut up Sting. You're _my _surrogate. I'll see you later, Gray." I said with a side-splitting fake smile, sliding Sting to the lobby (and the hot chocolate machine).

Once we were far enough away from Charlie's Angels: Hockey Edition, Sting began making that annoying eyebrow wave that he could do.

"Was that a spot of jealousy I saw on Gray's face? Didn't realize you guys were _that _close," he hinted, grabbing a Styrofoam cup and biting the side just to make sure that it was really Styrofoam.

Yeah Sting, really. Comparing jealousy to _tea._

"That was your overactive imagination." I poked, grabbing a cup as well.

"Mm! Before I forget, I wanted to propose an idea to you." Sting said, leaning his weight on the table while propped on his elbow. He sipped his hot chocolate eloquently (and then not-so-eloquently when he spit it everywhere. It was boiling hot, after all).

"And what's that?" I humored lightly, waiting for my hot chocolate to finish brewing all the while eying the muffins suspiciously.

He grinned at me like I had just accepted a deal with Lucifer.

"Walk with me."

.

.

.

I can't believe I actually _agreed _to Sting's dumb stupid proposition.

It was 12:35 a.m., neither of us should technically be awake, but I had agreed to come with him because he gave me the puppy dog face and said he'd never ask for anything else ever again, and I could go for a little leeway when it comes to Sting and favors.

My dad was fast asleep, snoring on the bed. Since we only had a one-person room, I had to sleep on the pull out couch, which was honestly more of a squishy slab of foam than a mattress. But that's ok, I'm completely fine with contracting scoliosis.

"_Uuugh, _what took you so long?" Sting groaned, leaning against the frame of my door.

"Shhh, come on, let's just go." I said hurriedly.

"Wow, nice swimsuit Juvs. Really accentuates your _cuuurves_." He wolf whistled, and I almost ripped a piece of his stupid spiky hair out.

"Shut up already, I don't want my dad to hear, he might think we're going out to frickle frackle, or something." I hissed. He covered his lips at my word usage and smothered his laughter.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." He agreed through his laugh guard. We snuck through the hall quietly, Sting started whipping his towel around like a baton twirler.

"What the hell are you doing?" I gasped, watching the tan rag swirl around hypnotically.

"Dunno. Hey check this out-" Sting interrupted his own towel trick when he accidentally lost his grip and the towel hit one of the player's posters and it fell to the ground.

"And…now we run." I said anticlimactically, motioning towards the elevator, still about forty feet ahead.

"Right." Sting accepted my terms, swiveling forwards and getting ready to take off running.

But lately, things haven't really been that easy.

The room across from the one that Sting accidentally defaced opened its door menacingly. Not even a minute in to expedition Eucliffe-Lockser and we had been foiled.

And by the world's most dedicated party-pooper, too.

"What the _hell _are you two idiots _doing_?" Lyon asked (or screeched), probably an entire bonfire in his eyes as he glared at us.

"Going…out for a swim?" Sting asked.

"_You _have a game early tomorrow, _you _should be getting sleep! Not getting _laid_, and _you_-" Lyon turned to me, "quit seducing people, temptress!"

Whoa. Did he just call me temptress? Is that the Lyon equivalent of a mega-whore?

"_Temptress_? Wow Juvia, keep it in your pants much?' Sting nearly lost it at Lyon's dialect. I nearly lost it at the fact that Lyon was implying that Sting went for chicks.

Oh yeah. I did make a hilarious Sting reference to him that one time, and he didn't get it. Maybe his gaydar is busted.

"Look Lyon, this is gonna take…not _even _ten minutes. Just don't pop a vein till then and I'll bring him back safe and sound, ok?" I bargained. Lyon looked like he wanted to object with maybe some more old-timey zingers, but that didn't exactly happen.

"Lyon? Go to _bed _godammit, weren't you the one that was whining about sleep deprivation anyways?"

"I'm kinda _busy _here, Gray." Lyon gritted, turning back to us with a frown.

"Yeah Gray, go back to bed. We were just inviting Lyon to a rave." Sting called into the room.

Gray, obviously suddenly interested because Sting was at his door, pushed past Lyon in his pajamas (kill me) and looked at us like we were insane.

And I'm still wearing a bikini.

I subtly covered my body with my towel and tried to make it look nonchalant. The last thing I wanted was for Gray to see how disgusting I looked under all those hoodies and sweatpants.

…Come to think of it, I might actually look _better _without all my clothes on…

"We're just gonna go down to the pool, real quick bye-bye Lyon." I said all in one breath as I started walking sideways in the direction of the elevator.

"Isn't the pool closed?" Gray asked. I nodded.

"Cool. I'm coming with." He spoke eagerly. I could've sworn I saw a tiny little explosion go on inside Lyon's brain through his eyeballs.

"_What_? Gray – you need to _sleep_-"

"I'll sleep when I'm dead, be back in a few." Gray answered as he elegantly slammed the door in Lyon's face.

"Wow. That was…"

"Well-put." Sting finished for me. "Let's go swimming!"

Sting bounced ahead and I realized that I was closer to Gray than I was to Sting. Uh-oh. Small talk, small talk, come _on _Juvia, this is what you've been training for!

"So are we really swimming? Or…" Gray trailed off, waiting for an answer.

"Sting wants to race me." I grumbled, because yes, that was his big plan, he didn't believe that I had what it took to be on the varsity swimming team and wanted me to prove him wrong. And I like being right, so it was a win-win situation.

"Ah. Are we placing bets?" He joked. Part of me wondered who he would place his money on. Probably me, just because I wasn't sure if Sting even knew _how _to swim.

"You'd be the only one." I replied. Sting was motioning at us to _come quick_, he must've already pressed the elevator button like eight thousand times.

"So, you and Sting, huh?" Gray asked wryly, looking down at the carpet, "how long has that been goin' on?"

I looked at him confusedly. "What? Like…since we met?"

"Since you guys started…you know…"

"_-God no_." I interrupted, an eruption of giggles surfacing at my lips. "Just…no."

"Strictly platonic. I see." He said, kind of weirdly. It wasn't like him to sound strangled and confused, that was _my _thing.

We got in the elevator and Sting dragged his hands across the buttons like some five-year old obsessed with pressing things.

"Sting, press one more button, and I'll break your collarbone." I threatened. He held out a finger testily, hovering over a button.

"Do it," Gray whispered encouragingly, "I _dare _you."

Sting pressed the button and I swung my hand around his neck, pulling myself onto his back and yanking him backwards.

"_Ow, _Juvia, this hurts!" He squealed as I bent him backwards like a doll, using my weight against him. Gray was laughing hysterically as the elevator started and stopped all the while as I held Sting down in a makeshift chokehold.

Sting, since he was five fucking years old, decided to fight back by _biting _me.

"_Jesus_, Sting, you wanna side of soylent green with that, you fucking weirdo?" I screeched, taking a look at the slobbery bite mark on my wrist.

"Ooh, look. We're here, goody." Gray said dryly.

The lobby was rather dark, save for one sleeping guy at the reception desk. Perfect, we won't have to worry about getting caught. Sorta.

I'm pretty sure Sting was playing the pink panther theme song inside his head because the way he was moving it sure seemed like he was dancing to the beat of his own drum.

"Whaddya say Juvia, wanna back out? It'll save your reputation…" Sting advised.

"What reputation?" I laughed, shedding my towel and showing off my stark white bikini. Definitely a risky choice on my part, one call from mother nature and the bottom half would turn into a walking advertisement from Japan. But it was super cute and had little layers and made my boobs look a tiny bit bigger than they actually were. "Oh yeah, the reputation of the girl who royally fucked up the meet and then subsequently quit. Any losing I do here today will have little to no impact on my, _reputation._" I said reputation with air quotations as I dove into the water anti-gracefully.

"Wait, you quit the swim team?" Gray asked, baffled as he ducked to his knees to talk to me on my level.

Right. Shit. I thought I told him that? Maybe not.

"Oh yeah, I did. Actually Gray, funny story-"

"Shut your damn cakeholes and behold the king of the pool!" Sting screamed and jumped into the water behind Gray and I, effectively soaking whatever parts of us weren't wet already. This proved even worse for Gray, considering he was wearing pajamas.

"Shut up dumbass, let's get this race on the road!" I pushed him away from me and splashed his floofy blond hair. He laughed maniacally and glided to the edge of the pool.

"Alright – here are the rules. No kicking people or hitting them, basically no cheating." Sting eyed me suspiciously. I winked. "First person back to this wall after touching the other wall wins."

Sting was making this too easy for me. It was a see-through ploy to show him that I had lost on purpose at the last meet, I could see that well enough.

I just didn't care.

"Gray, count how many seconds I beat Juvia by. Then I can call her that number as a hilarious nickname for the rest of her life." Sting added fuel to the flame. He was trying _way _too hard.

"Ready?" I asked him sweetly, kicking my legs up onto the wall and flipping my hair at him, showering him in a brilliant hair waterfall.

"I was _born _ready." He answered, getting way to eager to propel himself off of the wall.

"Alright guys, one…two…three…go!" Gray set us off.

For once, I was glad to not have a thousand eyes on me, waiting for me to slip up. Just Gray.

My arms and legs cut through the water so fast it was slightly painful. I could feel my hair swirling all around me and I almost ingested some I was going so fast.

Sting was gonna eat his words. And his ass, once I was finished with him.

I shot off the opposite wall and returned to the wall we started at.

My hand touched the wall so gracefully and I flung my head out of the water like one of those majestic swimsuit models. My hair flew in a cute little arc along with a bridge of water. The aftermath of my hair probably looked like someone from whoville. Oh well. Sting was still swimming. Asswipe.

Gray was looking at me weirdly. I met his gaze and made a 'the fuck you starin' at' look. He raised his eyebrows, like he was saying 'what do you mean?'.

Shit, this is too coupley. We can't be having full conversations with our eyes.

"Dammit! Juvia! You beat me!" Sting wailed, splashing me with his whole body as he did the dead mans float. Apparently losing did kill him.

"Dammit Sting! Get off me!" I groaned, pushing his dead weight off of me.

"She cheated, didn't she?" Sting asked Gray. He shook his head and shrugged.

"Foiled. Juvia, how could you? I trusted you!" Sting pretended to sob onto my shoulder. I patted his back like he was a baby who needed to be burped.

Gray watched us with keen interest. Maybe he was jealous. Sting _was_ kind of hot.

.

.

.

"Fuck this! Fuck it all! I hate this! Fuck! I need food!"

It was break time, or whatever they called it in hockey lingo. We were down by one goal. Probably because those Galuna Island coconut sucking fucknuts had body checked Gray within the first five minutes of the game and was still recovering.

Our team could survive without Gray. But the question was whether or not they could win.

And I'm not sure if the odds are ever in our favor at this point.

My dad was in such hysterics he took a bar break. And my dad _never _leaves in the middle of hockey.

"Juvia!"

I looked up from my perched 'rethinking my life choices' position to see who had called me.

"Jellal!" I waved him down eagerly. When he was within reach, I began opening and closing my hands like a toddler who wanted to be picked up. "You made it!"

"Yeah, we're down though." Jellal ate some of his microwave popcorn (where'd he get a microwave?) and offered me some. I complied with grace.

"Erza's gonna kill us for ditching her," I mumbled in between bites of popcorn. Yummy.

"Most definitely." He agreed solemnly, accepting the seat I offered him beside me.

"You think they'll pull through?" I asked hopefully. I really wanted us to win, for Gray. And Sting.

"Maybe if they put Gray back in." Jellal said, before turning to me and giving me a semi-serious look. "Speaking of…"

Oh jesus. Here comes the 'you like Gray' speech.

"So…you and Fullbuster, huh? Never would've pictured you liking a guy like him." He nodded, like he somehow approved our relationship.

"No, no, no, no. There is no Gray and Juvia, just Gray, and then several ellipses later, _Juvia_. Got it?" I clarified.

"Aw come on Juvia, I think you should go for it." He cheered, pumping his fist in the air like he was blowing a tiny train whistle.

"No way. I'm twenty thousand leagues below the sea compared to Gray. Like that sad little algae slime that grows on the bottom of your boat. That's _me._" I described, folding my arms over my chest and exhaling.

"And I'm _not _below Erza? I mean, Jesus Christ, you could mop me off the floor just to make _room _for her. I still got her though. Forget about standards Juvia, you put yourself down too much." He said, probably attempting to give me a pep talk but I had a barrage of comebacks.

"That's different." I bit out, even though it really wasn't that different. Besides the act that Erza was most likely more charitable than Gray when it came to dating below your league.

"How so? Just do what I did. I pestered Erza and forced myself into her friend group, then I asked her to homecoming. It's as simple as that." Jellal snapped his fingers and grinned.

"Homecoming's over."

"Then _prom_." Jellal corrected, with a primeval smile I wanted to smack off of his stupid tattoo-y face.

"…No."

"Come on Juvia, give it a shot! If you really like him-"

"-but it doesn't really matter anyway. We only have like a month left of school. Then we're off to college – it's not like Gray and I are going to the same college, it's pointless to try." I ended my arguments with a sigh to conclude the creation of earth itself.

"Wow. You've put a lot of thought into this, I can tell." He said with a small laugh. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. I really did think about it like all the time.

The game started up again and my dad returned. I was partially glad that Jellal stayed as well, I liked his company. And his poporn. Not quite sure which one I preferred yet.

They did end up putting Gray back in, towards the end of the game when they were tied. My dad's eyes practically rolled into the back of his head orgasmically. He loves hockey so damn much.

Things picked up after that, and all of East Magnolia turned into the 'protect Gray Fullbuster 2k15 squad' and he ended up scoring a goal. My dad starting tearing up.

"He's really good." Jellal said, after the game was over. The final score was 6-5,and my dad was apparently trying to resurrect shaking baby syndrome by shaking me hysterically by my shoulders.

"Yeah, I know." I spoke, looking back towards the still partying players hobbled across the ice.

I wondered if somewhere in the crowd, there was a scout for Magnolia University giving Gray a once-over and putting him on a list of possible candidates.

What if I _was _ruining Gray's future? What if (ugh) Lyon was right? Was I leading Gray in the wrong direction?

I shook the idea off like it was nothing more than a spider on my jacket. It was Gray' decision, not mine, and not Lyon's. I was simply encouraging him to broaden his horizons. That was all.

.

.

.

There was an after party for the team at some pizza place, but I made up some excuse not to go. I had a lot to think about.

Like what Jellal had said, about taking a chance. And prom. And my issues with Lucy. And the swim team. And Gray. Just Gray in particular.

Man, there is a _lot _of shit going on in my life. This isn't normal, trust me.

I aimlessly channel-surfed the hotel tv, my dad went off to the sports bar with some other hockey dads (but you know, good for him) and I was left alone in the room.

There was a knock at my door. Ugh. Probably housekeeping again. The little hanging thing that said 'do not disturb' was really flimsy and always fell off the door, so I don't really blame them.

I hopped off my dad's bed, gave my hair a quick ruffle so I looked a little bit less like Thing One (seriously, blue hair and all. Levy was a little bit better at cosplaying them than me, but come on. Opportunities like this don't come every century) and walked over to the door.

I peeked through the peeky hole and saw what looked like emo black hair. Seriously. Just a mop of dark hair and then a third of a face.

I opened the door, semi-curious as to why My Chemical Romance would want to be advertising at this time in the day, until I recognized the thin blue t-shirt and worn jeans that belonged to Gray.

"Hey there Joe Jonas, anything I can get you?" I joked. His hair was still covering his face. What is this, guess who?

He sighed heavily, and flipped back his hair so that it was normal.

Ah. _Now _I get it.

Gray had been harboring a _wicked _shiner, all purplish black. It was sad that I still wanted to bang him.

"D'awww, guess that body check really did a number on you." I chastised, pushing my door open so he could come in. He gladly accepted my wordless offer, sidling into my room and taking a seat on the pull-out couch.

"Want some ice?" I asked, grabbing the tongs and comically opening and shutting them. He nodded and I grabbed a cheap plastic bag and started filling it with ice from the cooler.

"So, what brings you to la casa de Juvia?" I asked, throwing him the ice bag. He caught it in one hand.

"I'm just sick of Lyon, and _Magnolia_ _University._" He grumbled. I turned to look at him. He was watching _say yes to the dress _with dull interest. I suppose it was difficult for him to admit that the only person who supported his dream was a lowly bitch who harbored a sick-ass crush on him.

"Need some real talk?" I implied, laying on the bed stomach first. Extremely painful, of course. Fuck my boobs, they've gotten me absolutely nowhere.

"What've you got for me?" He asked hopefully. I actually had nothing.

"Um…a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?" I offered with a guilty shrug.

"Wow. I think I'll take that one to the grave." He jeered. Well, I guess I'd rather have him making fun of me than moping about his droopy eye.

"So? How good can you see outta that eye?" I reached over and waved a hand in front of his face. Both of his eyes followed it dutifully. Not blind.

"Not bad, it sorta hurts though." He took a second to blink, proving that although it could still see, his eye was slightly impaired. "Coach might pull me out of the next game, my depth perception will be off."

"You think they can win without you?" I asked as a joke, but his grim face said that he believed not.

"I don't know if we can win this one _with _me." He admitted. "These guys live in the frickin' _glaciers_, they're pretty much born on ice. They've won state for the last four years."

Right. Because if they lose, they're out, and the game after this one is the last game – the finals to end all finals.

"Well," I drawled, hoping to come up with some moving advice. "do your best."

"Life-changing." He marveled at my shitty advice.

"O-oh, hey, I forgot to ask you this," I said, remembering something Lyon had said while he was crocked. "Did your girlfriend come here?"

His eyes widened and his cheeks heated up a bit. Oh my god, he is _way _too precious. Is it too much to ask if I want to lock him in a cell and keep him as my pet for all eternity?

Yeah. Maybe a little too much.

"Who…told you that?" He asked nervously. I want to make out with him. Literally. Right this very second. "

"Lyon. I mean…he was drunk, so…?"

"No, no. It's fine. It's just…I don't' actually have a girlfriend. That's just what I told my grandma – she's kind of old fashioned, and thinks I'll be barren if I don't get married soon…" He explained lamely. I almost cried out tears of joy. Even though I knew there was no chance of me and Gray being together, the thought of him not being with anybody else made me happy. Is that love?

"Hm. I never pictured you as a guy who had to bring a fake girlfriend into the picture." I mused. I had basically just told him I thought he was smokin' hot, but I'm sure by now he was used to it.

"I never pictured you as the type of girl to snoop." He said. I'll give him that one.

"Touché."

.

.

.

Gray was right. Their next game was difficult, the tem was definitely better than anyone they'd played before. In the end, they pulled out with a win because Loke somehow went all rage in the last half hour and scored two goals in a row. Coincidentally, they won by two goals. Gray played for the second half of the game as well, he scored one goal, I think, but made a lot of assists. I think I saw him trip someone too, but I'd keep that to myself because the ref hadn't seen it and they might send him to the time out room if they did. (My dad says it's a penalty box, whatever, it's more of a time-out anyways.)

That meant that they'd made it to the final two. They didn't know who they were playing against at the moment, the other deciding game went into overtime, but it was celebration time right now anyway.

Sting was currently giving me a piggy back ride to the candy shop which was down the street from the energy center, where the hockey tournament was happening. We just wanted some gummy spiders, dammit.

"So, are you excited for finals?" I asked, playing with a spiky chunk of his har as he set me down in front of the store.

"Man, I'm nervous as _hell_. We barely won that one, and only because Loke channeled his inner Gaborik, or whatever. I don't know – we can only hope Gray will actually play the whole game – I mean, jesus! I don't think he's played the whole time for a single game yet." Sting ranted.

"He did get body slammed." I reminded.

"Well why don't you go _cry _about it." Sting said childishly.

"I think I _will_." I snarled, pressing my face up against the glass of a candy dispenser. "I think I want bubble gum."

"What, because you're seven fucking years old? Give me a break, we need something badass." Sting made his terms relatively clear. "Whoa, what about those wicked things that look like rainbow murdering devices?"

"That's rock candy, it sucks." I deadpanned. "If you want something badass, buy one of those suckers with a scorpion in the middle."

Sting made an unpleasant face. "Gross, I wanna look cool, not _dead. _Let's just get some gummy sharks and go."

"Deal." I agreed. The shark came in red white and blue, reminding you of just how American it was to be a man-eating horror fish from hell.

"Give me a blue one!" Sting demanded as we exited the store, both of us ten dollars poorer.

That's right. We spent twenty fucking dollars on gummy sharks.

I handed him his blue shark, because apparently Sting was gentlemanly enough to let me hold the bag. For once, I guess.

We hit the walk button on a crosswalk so we could get back to the hotel while munching on sharks. Sting looked sort of uncomfortable for some reason.

"What's on your mind?" I asked just as the light signaled us to cross. He scratched his head as he started walking.

"Can I tell you something? That I don't really want you to tell anyone else…?" He tested. I nodded and threw a shark at his scar. It bounced off and he barely caught it.

"Sure. These lips are sealed. And if you really want to, we can get horror-movie level kinky and you can sew them shut." I joked while making a sewing motion over my lips to comfort him. He laughed out of pity.

"Ok. I'm sure you've kind of realized this by now because I've spent so much time with you – but…I like you, Juvia."

I spit a gummy shark at a car windshield. I got honked and sworn at. Sting started crying.

"-_What?_" I asked, hysterically trying to get the taste of artificial-ness and gelatin out of my mouth as well as clear the way of the raving lunatic who's car I'd just shark-d on.

He was still laughing. I gave him a moment to regain his composure.

"No I'm…I'm just kidding, oh my god…but no, I like guys." He said, switching to deadly serious halfway through his sentence remarkably easily.

"Oh…that." I said, thanking every deity that he was just kidding. And also trying to keep myself respectable – he's obviously not told many people this about himself and I wanted to prove to him that he could trust me.

"You knew already though, I figured. But I just wanted to confirm it for you." He said casually.

"Yeah I…knew. For sure. Thanks for telling me though." I said with finality, because I knew I might accidentally say something dumb or offensive if I said any more because that's what I always did when I got nervous. And serious Sting made me nervous as hell.

"Wow. So…you don't want to go shopping with me?" He asked, clearly surprised and maybe a bit irked.

"Do you _want _to go shopping with me?"

"_God _no."

"Then let's get to the hotel before that guy comes back with the shark on his windshield. He looked like he wanted revenge." I informed, ducking my head back to make sure mr. angry shark wasn't coming for me.

"Good plan. Shark me!" He commanded. I threw a shark at him and he caught it.

"…Did you really think I liked you?"

"…"

.

.

.

Of course – the final game was as hectic as I'd expected.

The center was completely _packed_, I could hardly see my own hand in front of me without it being swallowed up by another person in front of me. I'm pretty sure the human density was at an unsafe level, and everything smelt like sweat and body paint.

Right. I saw some girls from school in crop tops with the number 13 painted on them.

I wasn't jealous. Psh. I bet those girls had never been to his house before. If anything, they should be jealous of _me. _

My dad about pissed himself when we got here (two hours early -_-) and I took a nap on the chairs. I woke up later to the feeling of being suffocated and realized just how big of a deal this whole thing was.

I mean, if I didn't feel bad about the whole 'shipping Gray in a different direction' then, I sure as _fuck _did now.

If he really was good enough to get drafted from college and so on – was I taking him away from a great opportunity, practically _everybody's _dream? To get rich and famous?

I wish I wasn't so insecure about my goddamn insecurities. Why does everything have to be so fucking difficult?

The announcer started talking and soon enough the players were on the ice. I had to stand on my tip toes on top of the chair just to see anything at all. Granted, I was closer to the front than most, but some too-tall pepsi sipping bozo was standing in front of me screaming the national anthem. Fuck that guy.

Gray got put in first, I talked to him a bit yesterday and he said that he was gonna go in no matter what, even if he was completely blind in one eye. What a determined little precious cupcake.

And then that same precious cupcake stole six of my gummy sharks. Asshole cupcake. Most likely strawberry, if I had to give him a flavor.

Sting was number six, and he was in at the start too. He had been playing really well this whole tournament, I don't know if he scored any goals, but he was a good defense member and could slam that little sports raisin across the rink like bullet.

I think they call it a puck, but whatever.

"This is awesome, isn't this awesome Juvia?" My dad bubbled excitedly, watching the game with such intensity it was almost like he wanted to take that game out on a date and then afterwards, fuck its brains out.

"Yeah, it is." I breathed. It was hard to tell who had the puck it was going back and forth so rapidly.

My eyes really really badly wanted to focus on Gray, but I thought I might get a headache if I looked too closely. Seriously, these guys moved _fast_.

Then my dad started screaming and I was interested again.

"They're gonna score – Juvia! Juvia! Pay attention! This is _history! _Juvia watch! I want you to marry _that boy." _My dad twisted my head uncomfortably to point towards Gray, who was pretty much dancing with the puck.

"Why?" I croaked, wrenching my head out of his grasp.

"_Because_, I want to teach my grandchildren the art of hockey!" My dad gushed and with the amount of affection he was showering he might as well have been a heart-eye emoji.

"It's an art now?" I asked. Before he could answer he started screaming with ten thousand other people all at once.

No, that's ok. I didn't need my hearing anyways. Thanks for asking, by the way.

Gray had made a goal. It was pretty cool too, because the goalie was just standing there, like 'what the fuck just happened' and the whole East Magnolia side of the stadium lit up with sound.

I could imagine Gray's face, actually. All lit up and smiley like when I told him I'd go and see his hockey game oh-so-long ago…

Wow. Ok Juvia, _relax. _I slapped my face quick to make sure it was still in working order.

The game continued after that, alternating between teams and sides until it was 2-1, with us in the lead. My dad's hands were shaking.

"I've always wanted to go to state," he confessed, watching the game intensely.

"Gee dad, really? I never got that vibe from you…" I said sarcastically. He smiled, but didn't look at me.

"Man, they're really ganging up on Gray…" my dad mumbled to himself. He was right, by now, the other team had caught onto the fact that he was their leading guy, so they made sure to keep the puck away from him.

"It's fine, he'll be fine." I accidentally said out loud. I hated to admit it, but this hockey stuff was really pumping me up. It was probably my dad genes acting up again, but still.

The game was so intoxicating I hadn't even realized there were only five minutes left. I could tell the other team was distraught, they hadn't been playing well for the last quarter, probably because of nerves, and they were probably also expecting to be playing the team that we just beat. Part of me felt a little bit bad for them, because losing at state had to be hell, but the other half of me, coincidentally the more dominate art, wanted to squash them in the dirt like the losers they were.

"Just a few more minutes, _come on,_" my dad grunted, watching the layers nimbly keep the puck away from their net for as long as possible. At this point, they were just delaying so that the other team wouldn't score. Which was good – if they tied and went into overtime, my dad might go into cardiac arrest. And I'm dead serious – I won't even be able to get him to the hospital, I have an inability to drive in the city. Plus, the ambulance wouldn't be able to find us in this crowd. Winning was imperative – for my dads health, and my sanity.

Loke passed the sports raisin to Gray and he did a twirly whirl and narrowly avoided getting Jablonski-d by a player of the opposing team. That was some ballerina shit, right there.

My dad looked so excited I thought he might say something stupid, like 'go forth, my son' or 'I'll let you marry my daughter if you make this goal'. Honestly. My dad would sell me to the gypsies if he got a special meet-n-greet with Gray.

"Man, he'll be a great asset to Magnolia University," my dad said, a light smile on his face as he watched Gray.

My stomach did a cartwheel. This whole tournament was really making me see the light about this whole 'Gray-college-thing', I mean, what if it turned out Gray wasn't cut out for the business life? I'd _never _forgive myself if it turned out I was the one who single-handedly destroyed his future.

I guess that was a problem for tomorrow, because right now I just needed to focus on Gray and the game.

I started bouncing on the heels of my feet, bobbing up and down so I could see him better. Fuck. Why was everybody so goddamned fucking tall? Why did I have to be so fucking _short_, now of all times?

I saw Sting dart in front of Gray, momentarily distracting a guy that looked like he wanted to pummel Gray into the ice. Smart move on his part. Now Gray had better access to the net.

There was a bunch of screaming on the ice, the other team was going positively bananas to the fact that Gray had made it past their security. It was like my brain whenever Gray came into the picture, frazzled and on red-alert.

For some reason, my cheeks started heating up. Watching Gray this intently made me feel guilty. And…weird. I hated that he made me this way.

Some guy came at him full-force and Gray leaned back, shot the puck to someone else on his team, and straight up _matrix _level dodged the guy. Fuck. I just want to be _that _cool someday.

People all around me were screeching hysterically. Maybe I was too. That's it, I was finally part of the mob. The guy shot the puck beck to Gray instantly, trusting his shooting skills over his own.

Gray slid the puck around and did a few loop-de-loops.

It was then when I completely realized what he was doing.

That little show-boating _asshole _was stalling just long enough so he could do one of those awesome miracle-on-ice last minute shots that made people go bonkers.

He's such a putz, I want to kiss him till he can't breathe.

I was so entertained by Gray's little show I started laughing. And for some reason, I was pretty sure he was laughing too.

There was about thirty seconds left on the clock, and I could tell for sure that he was waiting because he glanced up at the timer about as much as I did. The other team was completely losing their shit – if they didn't score a goal in these seconds, they would lose to us. Magnolia East. The lame school that once had to be on lock-down for a week because of an opossum infestation.

Fifteen seconds. My dad was screaming for him to shoot. So was everybody else, everywhere.

Gray took his ever-lovin' time, gliding around like this were a fucking rodeo and not the state championship.

Then, at about the nine second mark, he whipped his stick up, lightning bolt fast, and shot that sucker so fast nobody even saw the outcome.

"Did…did it go in?" My dad asked cautiously. I wanted to say _'how the hell should I know', _but I was just as awestruck as him.

The goalie awkwardly shuffled around to check for the puck. Huh. Even _he _was expecting to not be able to block it.

The ref skated over to help in the search for the puck. Gray stood motionless in his position, both hands on his hips and probably with that cute little expression he always makes when he's confused.

The buzzer went off and the ref made a hand signal I didn't understand. My dad started screaming at a pitch I didn't know middle-aged men could conjure. Soon enough, I was screaming too, because even if Gray didn't make the goal, we still won.

I was pretty sure he made it, though. I had that much faith in him.

.

.

.

"_Weeeeee are the champions, my friends…_" Sting sang loudly into my ear. We had pretty much been non-stop celebrating in the lobby of the center, surrounded by screaming proud relatives and students alike.

Sting had grappled me shortly after the celebration and had been dragging me around with him to celebrate. Like arm candy, I guess. I let him though, because fuck, he did just win the state championship. I was too elated to care.

But I'm not gonna lie, all I really wanted to do was run up to Gray and kiss the literal life out of him.

Whatever, that could never happen anyways. I'm sure he's getting talked up by all his fangirls.

"If you're looking for Gray, I'm pretty sure he's talking to some college scouts!" Sting shouted in my ear, barely audible over the sound of winning.

My blood ran cold. _No, no, no, no! What if Gray rejects them because of all my pep-talking! He should choose what he wants!_

Ugh. My doubts about this were going to slowly kill me from the inside out, I just know it.

"I have to go find him!" I shouted to Sting. He nodded in understanding and released my shoulders.

I weaved my way through what seemed like an endless string of fans, at this rate I'd never find Gray.

_Let's see…think like a college scout…_

Without any other thoughts, I dashed back into the empty stadium, now covered in snack wrappers and trash.

There, by the penalty box, was Gray, talking to some old guys. Sting was right, he was being scouted.

Adrenaline pumping through me, I shot across the seats, leaping over them ungracefully and feeling the stickiness of spilt beer on the bottoms of my shoes. It was going to take me a while.

Unfortunately, by the time I was within earshot with him, the scouts had left.

I was too late.

"Gray!" I screeched, like an eagle descending on a mouse. He looked at me and smiled.

"Juvia! You-"

I tackled him without any further words and pushed his chest against the glass of the rink.

"_Please _tell me you didn't reject them…" I begged. What if he did? What if it was my fault he missed the opportunity of a lifetime…?

His face turned confused. "What? Why?"

"You…" I curled a fist against his chest. He smelt like sweat and a teeny bit like laundry, His chest was warm. "Please tell me you didn't…"

"What are you talking about, Juvia?" He asked slowly. Those were college scouts, weren't they…?

"Those were," I took a moment to gasp for breath, "those were Magnolia U college scouts, weren't they? You accepted, right? You deserve-"

"Juvia, _no._" He took my hand in his and looked at me, dark black eyes on blue, even though it was a little difficult for him to see over his still healing black eye. Actually, if anything, it looks worse today…

"Huh?" I garbled unintelligently.

"Come on Juvia, not you too." He said, lowering my hand shamefully. "You were the only one who had my back on this one…"

"No! Gray, I…" I trailed off. "I do support you, I just…don't you want it? The life of a star? You love hockey, right? I see it now, Gray, you're good, good enough to-"

He silenced me, placing a slightly sweaty finger on my lips. I kind of wanted to lick it, but I figured that would ruin the moment (and the tension between us) so I held back.

"I don't." He said simply.

Then, all my fears washed away. I collapsed my head into his sweat-smelling jersey in relief.

"Thank god," I moaned, slightly muffled against the fabric. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I did?" He asked humorously, returning my sort-of hug by wrapping his warm, strong arms around my waist. "_You _scared the shit out of me – I need you on the business school boat."

"I _am_ the captain, after all…" I mused jokingly. He laughed, and I could feel it in his chest, a soft, low rumbling sound. I squished my cheek against him a bit harder, he was so _comfy._

"I thought I was the captain."

"Hush. You're first mate."

"No way. I wanna be captain."

"You can't be captain. I'm the captain, and you're gonna _like _it." I commanded.

"…Yes captain." He grumbled sarcastically. I laughed. He loosened his arms around my waist and I could've screamed. I wanted him to hug me for all eternity.

Then my phone rang, ruining any and all moment between me and Gray that had been happening. Fuck me to hell.

"I…sorry…" I apologized, pulling away from him awkwardly and sending venomous glares at the caller ID.

_Gajeel_…you'll pay for this.

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Hey Jubi – I got a question for you."_

Oh jesus. Wait to go Gajeel, ruin the best moment of my entire fucking life.

"What?" I asked, trying not to use my I'll-break-your-fucking-neck voice.

"_…__are you ok?_"

The question struck a chord in me, for some reason. Gajeel wasn't one to frequently use emotions, so him asking one of the most emotional questions on this green earth made me wonder what was going on.

I turned to Gray guiltily. "I…have to take this."

He nodded understandingly. I rushed out of the stadium and into the parking lot, I needed privacy for this.

"_Still there_?" Gajeel asked when I got into the freezing cold lot.

"Yeah. I…I mean, to answer your question…I don't know." I admitted, thinking all at once of Gray, and Lucy, and Evergreen, and all of my problems compiled into one big ice cream sundae.

"_That's what I thought. Levy told me a bit about you and Lucy's falling out. I'm sorry, Jubes_."

Deciding to forget about the fact that he had been talking to Levy, I felt tears bite at my eyes.

Wow. I guess that whole situation was affecting me more than I had let on.

"Y-yeah. Thanks for calling, by the way, I really needed this." I sniffed.

"_Listen – you gotta tell her the truth. About Evergreen, about everything. It's the only way you'll be able to patch things up with her, you can't do this all alone._" He said calmly.

"I wish it was that simple – come on Gajeel, I can't tell her. It'd break her heart – Evergreen is a heartless _bitch _who will take hold of her weakness, I…" I stopped, checking again to make sure no one was listening. "-can't let that happen. Ever. And I'll take any heat that comes her way, she can hate me all she likes, but I _have _to do this. It's my job."

"_Quit bein' so dramatic – you don't need to do this all by yourself, hell even Natsu would help you! He'd do anything for blondie – why don't you ask for his help? Ain't his dad a cop?"_

I scowled. "Not an option. Gajeel – let me do this. I don't need the swim team, I'll be perfectly fine without it. I can protect Lucy from a distance, if I have to. This is my fight – not anyone else's."

"_But it's not-_"

"I'll talk to you later, Gajeel." I huffed, slightly frustrated. I hung up on him before he could say anything else.

It was fine – I could take it. sure, it might affect me more than I'd like to let on, but I'd pull through.

I'd do whatever it takes to keep my friends safe.

.

.

.

Gajeel kneaded his forehead anxiously, plopping his phone down and sighing at Juvia's stubbornness.

"I guess I have to do everything, don't I?" He grumbled to himself, before putting on his jacket and heading out to his car.

He had work to do.

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.

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**EW GROSS I HATE ENDING ON CLIFF HANGERS IM A DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING**

**so I was planning on updating july 31, but i finished edits early so yay!**

**Review responses ~~**

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Laudi14 – yeh I like evergreen in fairy tail but _somebody _had to be the bad guy I guess haha. Thx for reviewing!

Kiri – this one was only 10k so u might feel deprived ~~ oh well nalu will come…later on…

Guest – hehe yes chapters here are getting long…oh well I cut back a little on lyon on this chapter so :)

Raphiix3 – thank you sm ily! I tried to update fast. It didn't sorry.

Kiri – that's what I get for refusing to properly edit my docs…ah well I was a little bit more definite with editing this time (although my guess is its riddled with holes n shit.) ALSO YAS STUVIA I ADDED SO MUCH OF IT IM AFRAID IM OBSESSED NOW

Guest – OMG IM SO HAPPY U FEEL THAT WAY ILY

Guest – ILY2 RANDOM CITIZEN

unicornio15 – I wont until chapter 15, I think?

NeverInUrWildestDreams – (I sing a 1d song everytime I read ur username tbh) JELLY GRAY IS MY FAVE TOO ily thx for reviewing sunshine!

AsDarknessSpreads – DO U HATE ME NOW? Omg. Just wait till next chap. Im gonna fuck evergreen up the ass. I cant wait. *sigh* hopefully ill get you to like a few of those characters before the end then, huh? THANK YOU SO MUCH I LITTERALLY LOVE YOU TOO LETS DATE SOMETIME

Wolf to the Stars – yay I updated! This was kind of a fast update (for me at least) hope u like it!

Thunder Explosion – omg…thank u…I don't think im funny but u made my day :) hope u enjoy bb

Muffin-dragon227 – I know youre having issues with your dads girlfriend and such and such, but thannnkkkk uu for your review I LOVE U MOM yes I was totally trying to break ur heart did it work? Thank u mother ily hope u enjoy this chapter (even though I didn't tbh)

GuestsDontTwerkTheyRead – omg yes and thank u for reviewing :3

Guest – thankyouthankyouthankyou! Jesus tears are the best tears

Blue Star – thank you so muuuch! And for your critic review too! Ily

LateNightShips – I WILL SAVE YOU WITH THIS UPDATE (21 days late…eh…close enough?) omg

Guest – omg thank u so much sweetums ilyy

Kiri – YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I SCREAMED WHEN U SAID U WERE READING NNT I WAS ALMOST BAWLING HELP also I have a mosquito bite right on my boob like seriously u stupid satanic bug did u rlly need to bite my titty I don't need this also I rlly hope u get an email soon or I will cry

Kiri – Same I hate getting B's like omf A WEEABOO CLAN? AMAZING I am such a closet weeaboo I swear m friends don't even know that I know what anime is lol INDIANA SUCKED THANK GOD IM HOME MINNESOTA IS BAE

hotrodren - thx mom I try

sarahb – THANK U SO MUCH THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY :D

Kiri – I WASN'T GONNA ADD THE GAJEEL THING AT THE END but then I saw ur review and was like yeh better add it ALSO UR SO SMRT the drowning thing may or may not come up next chap…dfgh

Kiri - *THROWS FIREWORKS AT YOU* THIRTY REVIEWS I FEEL SO HONORED HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU

Lyrelei - U DIDN'T HAVE TO REVIEW but I love u omg thank u babe

Kiri – I decided not to post it on the 31st bc I didnt want to make u guys wait for shit lmao

Kiri – I was like sobbing in the book store they were so embarrassingly sad DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON LOVE TRIANGLES LIKE they are so unnecessary I started reading a book this summer and it was actually alright and then they THREW ME FOR A LOVE TRIANGLE so now I use that book to kill spiders and I refuse to finish it

SCREW THE BLUE MOON I LOVE YOU GUYS

Kiri – ¼ of the reviews omf I love u so much im gonna cry if u don't get an email soon ;_;

Guest – THANK U SO MUCH OMG I AM UNWORTHY ASDFGH

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***throws self on the ground* srry guys**


	11. Butterfly Charms and Blatant Saviors

**lmao was supposed to post this yesterday but the server crashed :') **

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I usually like to classify days like this as 'casual days'. You know those days, when your pants either decide not to make an appearance or do make an appearance, however short lived, and disappear later?

Days like this make me happy. I get to sit on the couch, watch TV, text Sting stupid memes, and listen to my parents argue about the stupidest, most laughable shit you could ever conceive.

"-she is _seventeen years old_, she is _allowed _to wear thongs!" My mom argued, for some reason their topic had switched to me.

I had no desire to input that a.) I have absolutely no intentions of wearing butt floss unless it's a special occasion, b.) I am eighteen years old, I have been for some time now, and c.) why the hell is this even an _issue._

Partly because I'm too far invested into Criminal Minds reruns, and partly because I'm not gonna put that much effort into arguing with my parents. I'm a pretty good judge of what's worth arguing about, and that doesn't even make the list.

I kicked my feet up atop the couch, unsatisfied with the position I had previously been in and switching to a more favorable viewing spot. I was a restless soul, always have been. Sitting still has never been in my agenda.

"Dad, can you make me food?" I asked, out of pure boredom and will to get my parents to stop bickering about useless things.

"Not now honey, daddy has to win a battle with your mom." My dad said, in a belittling fashion that made my nose wrinkle up like a pissed off bunny rabbit.

I made a huffy sound and pressed my face to the arm of the couch. It had been almost a week since the fateful Lucy fight, and she still hadn't spoken to me since. I was…holding up, to say the least. Lucy had taken Levy and Lisanna with her, unfortunately, not like it was battle royale Juvia vs. Lucy or anything, they had just decided to spend more of their time comforting Lucy than comforting me.

I didn't mind, Lucy deserved them anyways. I think the thing that surprised me the most was Erza. I've mentioned before that Erza and I could be considered 'best friends' to most people, but I didn't realize how strong our friendship was until now. She'd stood by me despite not knowing the whole story with Evergreen. With Erza came Jellal, and he knew his share of my secrets, but it was still a little bit nice to know that I had something to fall back on.

But, like anything else, I'm always the one I have to rely on. I'm the one who stitches my wounds, and I'm the one who tell myself that everything is going to be ok.

Gajeel's call had served to warm me up a bit, it was nice to know that the iron beast had feelings…however dim and dark he claims them to be.

Whatever. So I have significantly more issues than other eighteen year olds. Meh, I'd manage to pick up the pieces of myself sooner or later.

My resolve to protect Lucy hadn't faltered in the slightest bit, which is perhaps why she is still mad at me. I had made little to no effort to re-strengthen our friendship – it made sense in my mind that leaving her alone was the best way to keep her safe, after all, I had a pretty damn good streak of fucking things up lately, may as well spare one person from my wake, am I right?

A piece of my hair fell over my eye and I blew it away. Figures.

My phone buzzed and I eagerly went to grab it, half-expecting to see a stupid picture from Sting or a suggestive snapchat (also from Sting) to lift my spirits up.

Instead, I was pleasantly horrified.

I made a gasping/choking sound that both my parents caught.

"Something wrong Juvia?" My dad asked, giving me a sideways glance from the kitchen.

"Yup! Yuppers – everything is cool!" I laughed, hysterically, bouncing my phone in my hand. It continued to buzz and I felt the urge to start sweating tenfold.

They looked at me like they were sorry they ever had kids – I don't blame them, I'm a bit of a temperamental freak – before I dashed upstairs to my bedroom and slammed the door shut. This was a business call.

My finger hovered over the answer call button. I knew that if I didn't hit it, it could result in serious consequences. But hitting it would also provide me with no doubt plenty of unwanted ridicule.

The things I do for my friends.

After hitting the button, I held the phone up to my ear and put on my 'stoic face'.

"Hello?"

"_Juvia! What a pleasant surprise!"_

Jesus Christ, is she fucking serious?

"Why, were you expecting someone else to answer _my _phone?" I deadpanned thickly. She fake laughed.

"_Now, now. Don't get sassy. I just wanted to congratulate you on finally quitting the team! It was for the best, you know…"_

I aggressively gritted my teeth together. I so badly wanted to grind this bitch into the dirt.

"Listen, _Evergreen_, do you need something? I'm kind of busy." I lied. It was sad that I really didn't have anything better to do than get roasted by Evergreen.

"_Mm, actually, yes. You left some of your stuff in your swim locker and coach wants you to come pick it up." _

I cursed myself heavily. That's exactly what I needed – a walk of shame back to the swim team so I could prove exactly how pathetic I was in front of everyone. Nice use of salt Evergreen. Rubbing it into my wounds.

I bit the inside of my cheeks so hard I could taste the salty irony taste of blood. Yuck.

"Fine. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." I mumbled into the phone.

"_Oops, better make it ten. The girls are starting to give your stuff away. Cute butterfly keychain, by the way! I think it would look nice on my purse…"_

I almost growled at her like a rabid wolverine. That butterfly chain was one of my most prized possessions, how could I have been dumb enough to _leave _it there?

"Fine!" I heard my voice crack and immediately hated myself. This is exactly what she wanted, I just had to keep my cool, keep it cool Juvia, you'll be fine, you'll be ok…

I ended the call before she could say anything else snippy or horrible. I had some shit to pick up.

.

.

.

"Thanks," Gajeel said, taking Natsu's phone with vigor.

"Sure," Natsu mumbled. "What's this about? I want a full explanation, you owe me that much."

Gajeel sighed, loosening his grip on Natsu's phone a little bit.

"Look, I know you ain't exactly friends with Jubie right now. There's a reason for that, she's bein' stubborn as hell. I can't convince her to do anything different, so I just need to get into contact with the only person left who can." Gajeel informed, readjusting Natsu's phone and surfing through the contacts. "Where the hell is his name?"

"Who's name? Who are you trying to contact?" Natsu asked, peering around Gajeel's massive arm to look at the contacts as well.

_"__Fullbuster _dammit." Gajel groaned, seeing as each contact name on Natsu's phone was unique and weird.

"Oh. That'd be under 'micro penis'." Natsu admitted. Gajeel gave him a weird look before scrolling upwards to find Gray's contact name.

"What does Gray have to do with this?" Natsu inquired as Gajeel put the phone on speaker.

_"__Natsu? What do you want?"_

"It ain't Natsu." Gajeel replied.

_"__What? Who is this?"_

"Just shut up and listen, I got a story to tell you." Gajeel barked somewhat demandingly.

"_Is this gonna take long? I was gonna take a shower-"_

"Sit down, shut up and listen." Gajeel rephrased. "This is important, so take notes."

"Whoa, we're gonna hear a story? Never pinned you as a storyteller Gajeel." Natsu said.

"_Natsu? What the hell is Gajeel doing with your phone? What's this about?!"_

"It's about Juvia, ok?" Gajeel said, annoyed. He surprised himself by using her real name, he had almost forgotten what it sounded like.

"_…__Juvia?" _Gray repeated, like his interest had been piqued.

"Yeah, so are you going to listen, or not?" Gajeel asked him.

"_…__Yeah, I'll listen."_

.

.

.

I got to the school in about nine minutes, cutting it extremely close on some yellow lights that were uniquely red. The school wasn't particularly empty, there were still sports practices going on for track and swimming, so I ran into a few sweaty dumbasses I barely recognized on my way down to the locker room. Not that I stopped to say hi, I was in too big of a hurry.

When I got to the locker room, my worst nightmare was fulfilled. Every single girl on the team was in there, taking showers and gossiping about how hot Ryan Reynolds was, or whatever. My walk of shame would be increased tenfold with all of their girly whispering.

I inhaled deeply and pushed the door open , eyes averted to the ground. Without looking up, I pushed my way to the final row of lockers where I had left all of my stuff. Normally, no one was in the back row of lockers and I hung out there alone, but a few weeks prior to me quitting, Kinana had moved her stuff to the final row to talk to me. She was too sugary for her own good, I felt a little bad about ditching her.

Surprisingly, Kinana was sitting on the wooden bench in between the lockers, waiting for me. She had my stuff cradled in her lap. I looked up to see that my lock had been cut.

"I think I got all of it," she said, handing me my bag wrapped in my varsity jacket. "But I'm not sure, they cut it before I could get to it…"

"Thank you," I said earnestly. It was too kind of her to protect my stuff from those bitches, I'd miss Kinana.

"I'm sorry you quit," she apologized sadly. I made a guilty face and shook my head.

"It's fine, it was my choice." I laughed it off with a fake smile, I was sure she'd fall for it, everybody else had.

"Was it?" She asked, and before I could ask her what she meant, we were interrupted by some unwanted guests.

"Juvia! I'm so glad you could make it…" Evergreen celebrated, clapping her hands together. Her three bimbettes laughed along with her like she'd just told the joke of the century.

"I was just leaving," I cut sharply. I threw one last look of gratitude towards Kinana before I started on my way out.

"Ah…not so fast…" Evergreen protested, sticking her toned arm out to block my passage.

I let out an audible groan. What did she want now? _What _could she possibly gain from me at my lowest point?

"The girls and I were going to head out for a little tradition of ours, a _varsity _tradition." Evergreen began, like she was a villain who was about to go off on an un-welcomed monologue.

"Good thing I'm not on varsity then." I concluded. She blocked my exit again and faked a giggle.

"Aw, but you _were _on varsity. And it's a tradition! Before you leave, you just have to go through a little…initiation…" Evergreen annunciated the last word so it sounded a lot more like 'execution'.

My stomach turned. Sounded a lot like hazing to me, why would she need to haze me after I'm already gone?

"No thanks," I rejected sourly. She made a grumpy face and sighed.

"Oh well, I think you should still go, you could consider it part of our deal, if you'd like?" Her tone turned devious and I swallowed down all the swear words I wanted to hurl at her.

"I-"

"_Plus_," Evergreen added before I could input anything, "maybe you could win this cool charm if you come with us, you never know…"

My eyes widened as Evergreen presented a silver butterfly charm entangled between her long fingers. I looked down at my bag, sure enough, it was gone.

_Fuck_. Just…fuckity fuck fuck _fuck_.

"Evergreen, come on, don't do this…" Kinana protested from behind me. As much as I didn't want her involved, I appreciated her support.

"Nobody asked you." Evergreen threw back snarkily. "Come on Juvia, join us! It'll be fun!"

Despite every cell, every fiber inside me screaming _don't do it, _my longing for closure between me and Evergreen won out in the end.

"…Fine. I'll go with you."

"Juvia…are you sure?" Kinana asked, grabbing my shoulder in concern.

"Yeah, I guess." I said as Evergreen went back with her cronies to grab her stuff. "Tell Gray I love him."

Whoops. Did I say that out loud?

I felt my face brighten like a cherry tomato as Kinana's face scrunched up together.

"Gray…?"

"Nevermind, bye Kinana! See you later!" I screeched, wheeling around and racing for the locker room exit, where Evergreen was waiting to take me to haze central.

Oh well. It's not like anything _that _bad can happen…right?

.

.

.

Evergreen had all but tossed me in her car, along with tweedle dipstick and crew. They giggled and gossiped about something I blatantly didn't care about, and I just stared at the window, remembering landmarks in case I had to run back by myself. I had no idea where we were headed, Evergreen refused to tell me, stating in a playful voice that it was a '_surprise' _and I'd just have to wait until we got there.

"What are you staring at?" One of the girls snarled, looking at me like I had done something vulgar like grabbing her boob.

"The window?" I offered with a confused face, because that was literally all I was looking at.

_"__Sure_," she spoke, covering her chest with her hands. Jesus almighty _fuck_, really? I had my _own _boobs to look at, I don't need to look at anybody else's. Mine are sufficient.

Some girl giggled and I went back to tuning them out. The settings outside began to get less and less familiar, and as the sun began going down, so did my hope for survival

_What if they're going to murder me, what if they want to dispose my body in the woods and-_

I told my brain to shut up, it wasn't doing me any particular good. We turned down a more beaten down road and I felt a sense of dread settle in the depths of my stomach.

_Oh my god_, my breath caught as an idea dawned upon me. _I know where we're going._

My hand gripped the seat handle so hard I heard a knuckle pop. _Fuck, fuck, __**fuck, **__no, any place but this…_

My breath came in labored, shallow rasps as I felt panic set in.

"What's the matter Juvia?" One of the girls asked slyly. "You look a little pale."

"F-fine." I stammered, barely able to hiccup out another, more intelligent word. I needed a paper bag, even plastic would work, hell, I just needed to _breath_, in, and then out…

I knew exactly where we were headed. I recognized the drive from back when I was a kid, we used to drive down here, my mom, my dad, and me. Back when it was just us and no one else. That was back then…

I inhaled shakily, my pathetic self-reassurance wasn't going to cut it this time.

"Uh…we're not going to the beach, are we?" I asked, keeping my voice down so they couldn't hear how badly choked up I was.

"Such a good guesser, Juvia." Evergreen said wryly.

_Oh no._

_No, no, no, __**no.**_

"I have to go." I said thickly, swallowing the rock in my throat.

"Sorry, can't stop now." One of the girls giggled.

"No, really. I have to go home." I spoke urgently, pulling at the driver's eat. "Take me home."

"No can do," Evergreen laughed along with her friends and I felt like throwing up. That'd show them for sure. Unfortunately I hadn't eaten anything sufficient today, so I was running on empty.

"Evergreen, _please_," I begged, not even caring that it was _Evergreen _I was pleading with.

"What's the matter Juvia? You don't want to go for a swim?" She asked, and at that moment I caught her gaze in the rearview mirror.

_How did she know._

_How the __**hell **__could she have known?_

She winked at my horrified expression in the mirror and went back to driving.

Well, if I had any puke it'd be on the girls in front of me at this point.

"Let me out of the car," I requested, pulling at the locked door.

"Are you crazy?" One of the girls asked, swatting my hand away. I was tempted to respond with 'yes', but I was too frazzled to work on speaking. Escape was all that mattered.

"I have to get out of here, I have to go home." I repeated, like some sort of sick batman villain. The girls looked creeped out, so naturally, they did the asshole thing to do and covered the doors with their bodies.

I squeezed my eyes shut and sat back, halfway accepting defeat (and death) with wide open arms.

It had been exactly eleven years since I had last gone to this beach, and you'd think that right about now I'd be swelling with nostalgia, but on the contrary I was swelling with fear (and maybe throw up).

I'm sure I've mentioned along the way that I _hate _swimming, real swimming anyways. Real water is the most terrifying thing on this earth. It's unpredictable, it's deep, it's dark, it's cold – and it swallows you whole before you can determine where the air is.

Pools aren't real water, that's fake. Water you can see through and touch and smell the chlorine isn't anything like real water. Real water's only goal is to pull you _down, _down to the very bottom where you won't know which way is up.

I learned all of this last time I was here, and I haven't been swimming in _real _water since.

I suppose the best way I can explain my fear of drowning is like this. I'm a control freak, I like to be holding the reigns and have a good idea of where my life is going. As long as I know what's going to happen next, and I can _control _the outcome, I'll be fine.

Drowning is, quite literally, my worst nightmare. Not only is it the epitome of loosing control, but it's the feeling of being lost, trapped, alone, and cold all at the same fucking time while you are literally _dying._ It's the scariest thing I've ever experienced and if I ever have to experience it again I know I'll probably die.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe that's the stupidest fear that me, as a _swimmer_, could ever have, but god _dammit _it's _my _fear, and here's no way I'm going to face it now.

Last time I went to the beach I almost drowned. I fell in off the fishing dock when my dad went to go grab a pole and the weight of my clothes dragged me down and the seaweed grabbed onto my legs and begged me to join it and I couldn't tell which way was up and it's the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me. Nothing stirs more panic in your body than realizing you don't have enough air and if you don't get any soon, you're going to _die._

I don't know what would have happened if my dad hadn't jumped in after my and saved me that day. Maybe I would've been fine. Maybe I would've died.

The one thing I do know – is I'll be damned to the gates of hell itself before I step foot in that godforsaken ocean once more.

I looked down at my stuff from swimming, still sitting in my lap dutifully, and cursed myself for not bringing my phone in.

_Ok, ok…calm down Juvia…they can't force you to get out of the car…just glue your ass to the seat and you'll be a-ok…_

"We're here!"

I tore my gaze from my bag to the window. It was dark enough now that the moon was the best source of lighting, gleaming down on the sharp waves like a scene from a James Cameron movie. I didn't recognize this part of the beach, there were several pointy rocks out past the surf, and the tide was sort of high. There was barely any sand, it was a drop off zone. The worst kind of zone, in my opinion.

The car doors opened and the giggling girls poured out like kool-aid. I stayed put, rigidly clamping my feet and hands to the car. I wasn't going anywhere without a fight.

"Aren't you coming Juvia?" Evergreen asked, dangling my _stupid _butterfly charm in her hands while peering through the car door to examine me.

"No." I said sternly. That charm meant a lot to me, but I valued my sanity even more.

"Why not?"

"Take me home."

"Aw, don't be like that…" Evergreen pulled my arm testily. She was strong, but I was clearly stronger, and my steely glare seemed to be putting her on edge.

She made a sighing sound and twirled around to the drop off zone, skipping over to the drop off, and held her hand out elegantly.

I realized what she was threatening a second after she dropped the chain into the ocean below, crashing waves swallowing the trinket whole.

"_-bitch_-" I heard myself curse, jumping out of the car, still balancing the crap from my swimming locker under my arm. "What the _fuck _is wrong with you?"

She made a tiny shrug. "It slipped."

Half of me wanted to argue with her and rip her hair off of her scalp, the other half just wanted to sit on the ground and cry like the lost eleven year old I was. The butterfly keychain had been a present from my mom after I 'graduated' from kindergarten. It was a stupid little knick-knack that I loved. And now it was gone forever, washed away into the abyss.

"Well, now that you're out, you can do the _challenge_," one of the girls behind Evergreen plotted. Then I realized they had locked the car doors. I was trapped outside.

"No, _forget _it. I'm not doing your stupid challenges – I'm leaving." I choked out coldly. I turned around and started making my way down the rough dirt road. I was so far done with Evergreen's shit.

"I wouldn't act so haughty Juvia, it's really not like you have that much of a choice." Evergreen snarled, reminding me of everything she had on me. Or at least on Lucy.

I made a sick moaning sound in the back of my throat that I really hope none of them heard.

I'm Juvia. I'm strong, I'm not going to let these dumb bitches break me.

I turned around with a sharp sneer that could cut steel.

"What do you _want _from me, Evergreen? I don't _have _anything left for you to take!" I yelled. The other girls looked mildly confused, I didn't blame them, Evergreen was smarter than them. They were there for the strict purpose of quantity.

She gave me a pointed smirk that made my insides curl.

_Your dignity, _it screamed, that was all that was left, anyways. She was going to take my pride.

Whatever. She has placed a lot of faith in the fact that I have lots of it, when the truth is my self esteem is probably below the norm.

"Want to play our game, Juvia? You _have _to, since you quit early, this is your punishment." Evergreen started. I let out a shuddering breath as the smell of the ocean hit me like a speeding ice cream truck, it brought back memories of being trapped underneath it.

"And this is it, right?" I asked, sounding a lot more meek than normal Juvia sounded. This wasn't me, I didn't fold to expectations. "This is it, then you'll delete it?"

"Of course." She spoke fluidly, looking at me with those stupid sharp eyes of hers. I wanted to believe her, I wished with all my heart that I could believe her, but I didn't. Not at all. This was never going to end, was it? I should've listened to Gajeel, I should've told Lucy, she's a good friend, she would've understood.

I'm so _fucking _stubborn, and now I'm going to pay for it.

"Now," Evergreen mused, tapping her perfect, pointed nails against her chin. "What should we have her do first?"

"She should take off her clothes," the same girl who for some reason thought I was checking her out suggested.

"What is this, fucking Cinderella?" I asked bitterly. They weren't actually going to make me do that, that was like…harassment. I was fairly sure Evergreen wouldn't go _that far._

"No," Evergreen said, voice lilting a few octaves higher than usual. "I think that's a great idea."

Everyone went silent, including me.

"That's boring. Let's make her jump off." A faceless girl exclaimed giddily.

Well…I'd much rather strip than do that.

"No," I said shakily, my knees anxiously buckled and I tried to steady myself without looking like I was seconds from passing out.

"Come on Juvia, you're our _champion _swimmer, after all, don't you wanna take a dip?" Evergreen asked, with that same, sick smile. It was almost like she could read my every thought. What fear of mine did she _not _know about?

"N-no…" I stuttered, robotically wheeling myself backwards. I _had _to get out of there – I was too close to the ocean, too close, too close-

"Come back," a girl grabbed my arm and I felt someone else grab my other arm.

No way. This is _barbaric_. Are they really going to _drag _me there? What the _fuck _could they possibly gain from this?

I pulled my limbs away frantically, but there were enough of them to hold me forward, and slowly, like syrup dripping off a fork, they pulled my towards the drop off zone.

"Stop," I heard myself beg, only it didn't sound like me. It didn't sound like Juvia Lockser, it sounded like some hysterical fifteen year old girl who had just been rejected by the captain of the football team. "Please, Evergreen-"

"But Juvia, you're the star swimmer," Evergreen said venomously.

Then it hit me, how _truly _jealous of me she was.

I wondered if someone at home was waiting for her, I wonder if someone pressured her to be the best, to _win_ constantly, by any means necessary.

And to her, _this _was winning.

How warped was that? I felt pity wash over me like the tide I so despised. Fucking Evergreen was making me feel bad for her, seconds before she was about to commit the most heinous crime anyone could ever commit against me.

My foot scraped the edge of the dropoff and I felt my eyes widen painfully, to take in the scenery ten feet below me. The ocean, it was so damn close, I could _taste _it, I could taste the salt and smell the weeds.

"Happy landing," I heard someone whisper, and with one last ditch effort to save myself, I pushed backwards, knocking a few girls to the side and saving myself a few extra seconds of time.

"What the fuck is _that_?"

Everyone's head swiveled backwards to see two bright, illuminating lights approaching from the dirt road, about a hundred feet back.

Oh my god. This was it. This is what it felt like to experience true happiness. I was saved – someone was _coming_ – I could _escape-_

Evergreen and the other girls stopped pushing me for clarity. I began gulping air like a stupid goldfish and I pushed farther back, securing my place in the world as a dry, oceanless girl.

"Who the _fuck _did you guys tell?" Evergreen barked, looking at her meager friends. She had the face of a dog about to sniff out a barrel of coke.

"I didn't tell anyone!" One girl piped up, and a few of the other girls voiced their agreement. My eyes were fixed on the bewitching headlights, drawing ever closer.

With my luck, it would end up being someone else who wanted to see me burn, and I'd end up a dead body floating in the ocean anyways.

The car was only ten feet away. Most of the girls, out of curiosity, had released me, but I was too paralyzed to run away.

That car looked too familiar.

"Evergreen," one of the girls beside me whispered. "Is that…"

The car pulled to a screeching halt in front of Evergreen's car, and the driver's door swung open.

_Oh…fuck_.

The driver stormed out, reminding me of something straight out of a Matrix movie. No one moved. No one breathed.

I mean, I was screaming at the top of my lungs on the inside, but that doesn't really count for anything, now does it?

Evergreen stepped forward.

"Gray," she annunciated, hand poised on her waist like she was ready to kill. "What are you doing here?"

He lifted his head up so the hood of his sweatshirt fell to his shoulders. I almost peed myself right then and there because it looked _so fucking hot_, but whatever. His eyes were stormy and dark, I could see them practically glowing in the light of the stars.

"Get the fuck out of my way."

Everyone sucked in a breath, including me. He sounded so completely dark and menacing. I wanted to kiss his dumb evil face.

"_What_?" Evergreen asked, offended that he could ever use a tone like that on her.

"I _said_," he began, and just that half of a sentence made me brace myself for impact. "Get the _fuck _out of my way."

I ushered in a shaky breath. Evergreen didn't move, not to defy Gray, but just because he was acting so…_strange_. How the fuck did he even know we were here? Why was this even happening?

Hearing Gray say fuck also kinda turned me on, but horny Juvia is a nuisance and must be stopped immediately.

"W-what are you _doing _here?" Evergreen repeated with a small foot stamp. Huh. So even the mighty Evergreen trembles at evil!Gray.

I was sure trembling. But in a different way. Wink wink.

Jesus Christ, maybe I should throw myself into the ocean.

"Evergreen, give me your phone."

The request was so off-handed I felt myself blink in confusion.

"Why-"

"_Give me your phone_."

His demand was harsh and raspy, I felt my fingers twitch anxiously. Where was this Gray even coming from? What were his motives?

And a teeny-tiny part of my brain, who was killed immediately after suggestion, wondered if he had actually come here for _me._

Evergreen nervously handed him her phone.

He reached out, grabbed it, and _crushed it _in his hand.

And…I didn't think it was possible for one person to be so fucking sexy. Damn you Gray Fullbuster. I will get my fucking revenge on you.

"What the _fuck _did you do that for?!" Evergreen shrieked, grabbing her face in anguish. He dropped her shitty cracked in half phone onto the sand like it was dead meat.

The girls around me started whispering uncomfortably. I would too, if any of them were even remotely my friends and not trying to push me off a small cliff to my doom.

"Let me tell you one thing," Gray started, raising his finger up at her and glaring like she was the woman who murdered his parents. "If you _ever, _bring that fucking picture up_, ever _again, I'll fucking know. If you _ever_, threaten Juvia again, by _any _means, I'll fucking know. And if you _ever _cross me again –" he cut himself off just to glare at her more poisonously.

He didn't even have to finish the sentence. We all got the message, fucking _loud and clear._

Wait a second…how the _fuck _did he know about the goddamn picture?!

"That's my fucking phone, you dipshit!" Evergreen screamed again.

"Well why don't you tell your parents why I did it then. Go ahead. _Explain _to them how you got that damn picture, and then we'll see who's talking." Gray threatened.

Whoa. He was really firing rounds, _straight _into Evergreen's smug little face. I might just have to fuck him after this. It'll be the only real way to repay him.

Seriously. I think I might love Gray Fullbuster a little bit a lot.

"Delete that fucking picture off of everything you have. Natsu Dragneel's dad is a fucking cop, and I won't even hesitate to tell him and you'll be a sex offender at age eighteen." Gray added, just for extra kablam.

I felt like calling his bluff, I really did. That was the problem, I would've gone to the cops _long _ago if it were that simple_. _The truth is, if I turned in the photo to the police, Lucy would be a sex offender too. She was the one who distributed the pictures. But it was still a good lie, and she might fall for it.

"You…" Evergreen trailed off. "Why? Why are you doing this…is it for _her_?" She pointed to me and I held up my hands defensively. Gray's eyes barely even skimmed me and I couldn't help but be a little bit offended.

"You fucking _blackmailed _her with a picture of her _friend_ – who the _fuck _does that?" Gray asked rhetorically.

Ok, who the _fuck _told him all this shit? The only people that knew about this whole ordeal was me, Evergreen and…

_Gajeel_.

That _fucking _crackbaby! I was going to _kill _him when I got out of this, stupid fucking hell's angel!

"You don't know _anything_," Evergreen growled. Right, because she was totally justified to do this to me, boo! Go home bitch, you lost.

"Get out of my way." Gray said again, and this time, Evergreen stepped to the side.

My eyes widened until the probably looked like big, navy blue dinner plates.

"Juvia," he said, finally meeting my gaze and holding his hand out. "Let's go."

_Fuck _yes. I'll go with you anywhere Gray.

I pushed past some random girl, accidentally slapping her in the face, I could really care less, and walked towards Gray.

"Is that your stuff," he asked, pointing to a small pile of fabric on the sand by Evergreen's car.

"O-oh yeah," I muttered, slightly embarrassed. Dammit Juvia! Be fucking cool for once in your dumbass life!

He walked over to the car and threw open the door for me, in a sorta-chivalrous-sorta-angry way that made me rethink if he was here for me or not.

Oh shit. Was he _mad _at me for not telling him about this whole…mess? Fuck. He totally was, wasn't he?

I got in the car, sneaking one last look at the silent Evergreen and co.

They didn't look back. I didn't blame them. Gray had just dragged them through the sand, eyes and mouths open to accept their grainy fate.

Gray got in the driver's seat and didn't hesitate before starting the car up and driving away.

I felt like there was a desert in my throat. I couldn't say anything, couldn't offer him any thanks or compliments on how badass he was during that confrontation. Just silent, pathetic, buggy-eyed Juvia still reeling from being that close to the ocean.

"How did you know?" I finally spoke. The trees flew by, he seemed to be speeding. Oh well. No one was at the beach at this hour.

"About what?" He asked, vice low and emotionless.

Shit. I kind of wanted happy, nice Gray back. Evil Gray was cool enough, but I wanted him to comfort me or something.

"…Where we were." I decided on dealing with the Gajeel part of the day secondly.

"Kinana."

_Kinana_? My mind reeled. Why would Kinana have called…

_"__Tell Gray I love him." _That's what I had told Kinana before I left. Fuck. I hope she didn't say anything _too_ incriminating…and then she must've overheard some of the other girls talking about the beach…hmmm…

"You know Kinana?" I heard myself ask. That was rather…convenient.

"Yeah. She's dating Cobra."

That was the point where if I'd had any coffee, I would've spit it all over Gray's windshield.

"The _fuck_?" I squawked, like someone had put rat poison in my tea. "Not Kinana! Not sweet, perfect Kinana! I thought she was dating a guy named Erik!?"

"Cobra _is _Erik."

"Oh…_oh_…but…_why_? She could do…_so _much better…"

Gray laughed a little bit at my exaggeration. Good, good, he's returning to the light side of the force.

"So…" I said conversationally, looking at him with my lips puckered weirdly, a habit of mine when I was thinking too hard. 'You…know…about the whole…thingy?"

"Thingy?" He scoffed, in a laughing way. "That's a funny way of putting it."

"Well, what else do you want me to call it? Blackmail Royale?" I asked sharply.

"That would be pretty cool." He admitted, leisurely turning a corner.

"Um, but…y'know, thanks. For covering my ass back there." _Well, that's an eloquent way of putting that, you goddamn idiot._

"Come on, what are friends for?" He asked, and I felt a knife sink through my heart.

"Right." I wheezed.

"But…you sure had a lot going on over there. It's almost like you had a secret second life, or something." He joked.

"Maybe," I hinted, kind of wishing I did have a second life to return to once this was all over.

"I'm sorry."

My head swiveled to look a him, my eyes were probably crossed in a real attractive way and I said something like 'whahahah'?

"You had to go through a lot of shit, I had no idea. And I…I forced you to help me with college." He laughed bitterly, like this whole problem was his fault.

He is so precious and smol…I'm gonna cry…for real…

"No…_oh my god, _Gray, you did _not _force me to do shit." I choked out through tears/laughter (?).

"Huh. You're awfully weird, Juvia." He said. I stopped my cry/laughing to look at him oddly.

"How so?"

"Jesus, do you even need to ask? You were balancing swimming, blackmail, _me_, your friends, and school all on your hand at once. Most seniors are more worried about college acceptance than all that." He explained fruitfully.

"I guess…" I mumbled, clicking my nails against the window of his car. "So…I take it Gajeel told you everything?"

"Yeah. I didn't realize you guys were…close, or anything." He muttered the last part like he was slightly embarrassed.

"God. Gajeel's been my friend since freshmen year, he's like my brother." I rambled. "I'm gonna beat his ass when I see him again, spilling my secrets…"

"Hm. Natsu wants to apologize to you, I think. And then he wants a crack at Evergreen." Gray informed me with an affectionate smile.

"Natsu knows too? God, did Gajeel broadcast this to the entire school, or something?" I asked dryly.

"Nope. Just us. Natsu was really on board with helping you, though. He wants evergreen's ass arrested." Gray mentioned.

I felt my face pale. "Christ, he didn't tell his dad, did he? Lucy'll go to jail too! He can't-"

"It's fine. Natsu's dad already told us, but he said he'd keep an eye out if the picture resurfaces." Gray said. Oh god. So that Igneel guy was on _our _side – I had almost forgotten about the night he pulled me over.

"Wow. Thank you so much – I mean, it's like we've got this bitch wrapped up into a neat 'lil package." I complimented, genuinely happy for the first time in weeks. I could talk to Lucy now. Since Natsu wasn't mad at me, I had no new reason to keep him away from Lucy.

Everything might actually turn out ok.

The only plotpoint that hasn't been resolved….is…

I looked over at Gray for a second. His eyes were focused on the road, and his hair was covering the side of his face. He looked so serene, like the reflection in a pond. If I touched him, he'd disappear. He as the literal definition of 'too perfect, too pure for this world'.

I had no chance with him. Never. Not in a million years.

I jerked my eyes back down to my lap. I noticed the missing spot where my butterfly chain had hung and grew sad again.

R.I.P butterfly charm, you were adorable and I will miss you. And I will avenge your death by switching out Evergreen's tampons with cheese sticks.

I was so irrevocably grateful to Gray I wanted to thank him again. If he wouldn't have come in, like my knight in a navy blue hoodie, I probably would be sleeping with the fishes right now.

Get it? Because I'd totally drown.

Let's just pretend that was funny.

"Hey," I began, going against my intuition and thanking him anyway. "Seriously, I was really scared back there. I owe you big time."

"Ooh, a rare Juvia favor? What shall I do with this?" He mocked, before his face became serious again. "You? Scared? I doubt it."

My smile tightened. My fear of drowning was so real it was almost disappointing he didn't see it too. I just needed…control.

And Gray made me lose control.

_Fuck you Gray,_ I thought as he happily turned the corner into my neighborhood.

I hated him because _he _made me scared. He made me lose control and I _hated_ it so much I just wanted to kiss him until he died.

"Well," I reasoned though a thin smile. "we all get scared, don't we?"

He looked at me with one of his weird, half smiles that made my insides turn to liquid and my eyes blink rapidly from his radiant gorgeousness.

"I guess you're right," he shrugged.

I want him to leave a shoe print on my face.

"Thanks for the ride home…" I thanked him awkwardly, staring at my shoes to avoid melting from _him_.

"You're welcome, Juvia." He replied, smiling. "I've got your back."

It's extremely sad that I wanted to respond with 'I've got your ass', grab his butt, and run.

So instead, I smiled like the heavens had just decided to make it rain chocolate syrup.

"Thanks, Gray."

"Now get out, before Lyon notices I stole his truck."

"Tch. _Rude_."

After I hopped out of the car and shut the door, Gray rooled down his wondow so I could hear him say one last thing.

_Please say I love you, please say I love you, please-_

"Don't forget, you owe me a favor!" He sang, like the five-year-old know it all that he was.

"_Really_?" I called back as he pulled out of the driveway, probably laughing his hardest.

Well, fuck him. Seriously, someone's gotta do it. Preferably me.

I turned back to look at my house, like a thousand pounds had been lifted off of my shoulders.

It felt good to be free.

I blinked a few times to discover I was crying. Fuck you Gray, you salty bastard. Only you could reduce me to tears at my driveway.

I really couldn't thank him enough. And I really hope the favor he asks me is sexual. No regrets.

I looked down at my watch. 11:30.

A thought sprung to my head. A brilliant, wonderful thought that made happiness squirt out of my ears like a fire hose.

"I'm gonna call Lucy."

.

.

.

**yes…this chapter was shorter…only seven thousand words…darn**

**this chapter was a little low on humor (ill make u for it next chapter, i promise) but i had to get rid of this side plot somehow, so why not use sexy!Gray?**

**a few announcements for people who are too afraid to see my tumblr**

**1\. only four chapters (probably) left! exciting!**

**2\. im planning on having the second to last chapter (by popular demand) in gray's pov, which i'm excited for!**

**3\. i've been a bit conflicted bc of have two endings planned for this, and I'm still unsure of which one to pick. For now we'll call them 'realistic ending' and 'fluffy ending'. I'm good for either, but rn im leaning towards fluff…**

**okk, now to review responses!**

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Raphiix3: thank uuu raph ilyy

Smu: HAHAAAA STUVIA TRASH u have been officially recruited

Kiri: gajeel wins at lyfe

FairyTailF.T: yesssss omg more stuvia recruits :') im so happy welcome aboard ily

GuestsDontTwerkTheyRead: THANK YOUUU I HOPE U LIKED THE CHAPTER :3

Little Miss Z: ive recruited even more ppl for stuvia dfvgbhnj WHOA I WANT BROTP PICS BRING MY CRACKINESS TO LYYYFE and oooo tumblr friend :D

nattersfluff: hahaha thank you so much! I reeallly hope u liked this chapter uwu

Anani00: haha thak you for your long review! prom issues are next chapter :3

NeverInUrWildestDreams: I still hum the song 'best song ever' whenever I read ur penname ;_;

AsDarknessSpreads: raisins taste like dirt it is a literal scientific fact. *places a ring on ur finger* YOURE TRAPPED NOW. omf idek is gray even scored. lets go with yes bc this is fanfiction.

laefa: thank you! sorry for the late update bby ;-;

Guest: wow drag me omg the batman au ill try my best b

stinghotdork: NIIICE PENNAME THIS WHOLE REVIEW WAS GOLD I CRIED THANK YOU AND ILY2 !

hotrodren: I have officially recruited everyone aboard the u.s.s. sting/juvia crack brotp THANKS ILY MOM

Guest: THANK YOU STUVIA TRASH

Leaffeather: haha canon gay sting is bae and thank you! hope u liked the chap!

endingsarenotalwaysbad: YOUR REVIEWS ARE THE GREATEST WTF STEP ON MY FACE I FXCKING CRIED RIP ME THANK YOUUUU (I hope this chapter doesn't scare u away bc ugh) BUT ILYSM ! (fanfic dot net doesn't let me use the lil sideways carrot icon to make a heart so 3 3 3) (those are hearts) (omfg)

Kiri: im gonna answer like seven reviews in one so *cracks knuckles* BLUE MOON DAAYYYY I cant believe I didn't get to see it ;-; there was a tree in front of my wondow and I even ran outside to see it but there were too mNAY FUCKING TREES RYTYU omf I kinda wish u had a tumblr bc I WANT TO TALK TO YOU THROUGH SOMETHING BESIDES REVIEWS *cries onto the floor* also YOU ARE TWELEVE THAT IS SO CUUUTTEEEE and WOW THAT IS ONE ANGSTY STORY YOU ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO HAVE TO SHOW ME SOMETIME

electrodes: THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ARE SO NICE ILYSM I HOPE U LIKE THIS LAME CHAPTER BYE

LateNightShips:sorry for updating earlier than that (IS THAT YOUR BIRTHDAY IF SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY *chucks a birthday cake at u*) or just for 9/11? ww ok anyways ily

Reviewer: haha u must have been poisoned by deysi momocicerone but thank you anyways!

Michi41: thank you so much omg :')

Kiri: again...gonna shove a bunch of responses into one LETS GO ooo yeah you probably will end up being the 200th reviewer (ily btw) I have review moderations on so that's why it takes a little bit for your reviews to pass through ! AHAHAHA no its not rude like at all I haven't updated the archive post in like a solid month so ? its pretty behind ALSO MY FAMILY THINKS YOUR ADORABLE you should go talk to thegreatgrapist bc she wants to meet you and wendy watching-the-lovely-rain-fall bc she thirsty and KATE muffindragin227 they all love u trust me BUT YEAH AMENAH IS GOLD YOU ARE A CINNAMON ROLL AND A PRECIOUS CHILD BBY WE MUST PROTECT YOU! ps I threatened cheska so if shes weird to you just tell me and I will beat her up. ahaha yeah deysi is worried that youre too young to be reading our shit but ? meh at twelve I was a Satanist so I think youre good...haha yeah act my age has a lot of reviews I was rlly surprised. that weird that u noticed that! I guess I don't rlly pay attention bc I generally gauge fic popularity by follows, idek why! ILYYY

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**lmfao imma go hide for a while so I can forget the low quality of this hap ;-; bye gys ily**


	12. Calm Before the Storm

**hello everyone, and welcome to the last day of 2015. i hope u guys were all expecting this.**

**first off, i am **_**very **_**sorry for that lengthy hiatus. id give you a million excuses, but im pretty sure all you guys care about is the chapter, so ill shut up now.**

**have at it. sorry if its shitty. bc it is. oops.**

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"-and what do _you _think, my darling Juvia?" Lucy asked her, giving a quick twirl and presenting herself like she was a wedding cake. "You like?"

"It's fine," I gave her the exact same passive answer I'd given everyone else. I was far too entranced by the swirly mints on the edge of the dressing room table to really notice what color dress she was wearing.

Lucy huffed, taking a keen eye to my apathy and walked over to the 'boyfriend couch' I was sitting on, poofy dress spilling everywhere like too much ugly champagne.

"Awww, somebody's a grumpy-grump." She pouted, crossing her arms and leaning her chin on my shoulder. "What's up buttercup?"

I mustered a weak smile. Contrary to my current mood, I was actually overjoyed that Lucy and I had repaired our friendship after the whole Evergreen incident. We talked on the phone for three hours. She cried. My eyes watered up…but only a little bit.

Lucy had been amazingly understanding, and also weirdly grateful to me, like I had somehow done her some great service, even though all I had really done was sacrifice my social life, status, and personal hobbies for her.

Well ok. I deserved a tiny bit of credit.

But the real credit went to the mvp of my life – of course, hands down, Gray-motherfucking-Fullbuster. No only had he solved my problem like some oneshot superhero with only a few hours left in the day, but he'd also managed to get my panties in a twist like no other man or woman could.

"Juviaaaa, aren't you gonna try on any dresses?" Lisanna asked me, god, she always looked so good in purple. Maybe it was the hair, I don't really know.

Also, there's a weird fact. Lisanna got asked by Bixlow, some half-assed semi cute guy who used to be friends with Evergreen, and was good friends with Elfman, Lisanna's brother. I had no idea they had a thing going, but hey, whatever floats her boat.

"I'm probably not going to prom, so there's no point in trying on dresses," I admitted casually, knowing full well the response my answer would elicit.

"_WHAT?!"_ Lucy gasped, shaking my shoulders with a characteristic wail.

"You _have _to!" Levy cried, and I almost choked when I saw the sky blue dress she was donning, which would've been completely lovely if there wasn't a clear gap where her chest was supposed to fill out.

"You're flashing me, Lev." I informed her, and she shied away anxiously. "Plus, it's not like I have a date or anything, and I'll be-"

Lucy made the most obnoxious _oh-really _face I'd ever seen and I resisted the urge to strangle her right then and there, it would kind of ruin our dynamic if I ended up murdering her on the day we became friends again.

"I have a gajillion people to set you up with, Juvia, _god, _why didn't you just ask!" Lucy shamed, slapping my shoulder playfully and dialing up her phone like it could solve all my problems with the click of a button.

"That's not really necessary," I told her, lightly pushing the phone downwards and flashing her an annoying grin.

"Ohhh, _please_, isn't there _anyone _you could go with? Or you could just go with us as a group! As long as you don't mind third wheeling…or…nine wheeling…" Lucy began to question herself as she counted imaginary people on her fingertips. I started to shake my head, but Lisanna and her nosy ass just _had _to butt in.

"I can think of _one _person," she sang teasingly, tapping my nose and skipping around me in circles.

"What?" Lucy inquired, suddenly alert, like a puppy who had just heard the word _walk_. "Who?"

Lisanna's annoyingly perfect silver eyebrows danced across her forehead. "A certain _someone _in our physics class – Juvia's been spending an _awful _ lot of time around him lately…"

"Lisanna, shut up before I rip off your arm and _kill _you with it," I told her pleasantly. She barely even flinched.

"Spill already Lis!" Levy pried, leaning onto her shoulder with such intensity she almost careened over like the titanic.

"I swear to god Lisanna, one false move and I'll-"

"It's Gray," she bubbled without hesitation, taking my threats in a less-than serious mater and grinning. "Gray Fullbuster."

"Gray Fullbuster?" Lucy put down the pinkish dress she had been examining and allowed her jaw to drop characteristically. "No _way_."

Lisanna nodded, acknowledging her amazement with equal fervor before squealing at a pitch I think only bats can hear.

"Juvia – he's – so – _cute_! I can't _believe _you didn't tell me ohmy_god_-"

Resisting the urge to assure her that I had full knowledge of Gray's cuteness, I debated whether or not to divulge my secret overwhelming crush. On one hand, I preferred to _not _have the three of them giggling over my shoulder every time I said a word to Gray, and I also preferred not to have to slap a hand over their mouths every time they threatened to reveal my secret to the _last _person who needed to hear it.

On the other hand, keeping secrets was exactly what had caused the rift between me and Lucy that already seemed millions of miles away.

Decisions, decisions….

"So? Are you asking him to prom, or what?" Lisanna asked me suddenly.

I blinked.

"What?" My voice came out like rice krispies. "Am I….what? No! No way!"

"Why nooooot?" Lucy asked me with a whimpering pout.

"Because, we're just friends!" I reasoned hysterically. Out come the lies, like an endless fountain of poisonous water. Looks great, tastes bad.

Right. Stick to swimming, Juvia.

"Awe. You guys would've made a pretty cute couple…" Levy said sadly, Lucy nodding in agreement only seconds after.

We definitely would've, because his astounding beauty would've brought up the group average tenfold.

"Sure," I replied, sounding as unconvinced as I possibly could. "I still don't think I'm gonna go, but I still want to help you guys with all of your stuff…?"

Lucy looked at me blankly. "You're going."

I made an intelligent sputtering noise as she harshly grabbed my upper arm and yanked my skyward.

"We're grabbing you a dress. You're coming to senior prom - dressed like a maneater – and you're gonna have the time of your _freaking _life, gosh darn it!" Lucy told me, cautiously avoiding swearing, probably to mock my mouth, which was in dire need of a soapy wash.

"Thanks for letting me know in advance," I coughed out dryly as she threw something that looked like it had been wiped off of a crime scene floor, it was so stunningly red. She added several other colors that looked like they belonged on Broadway rather than prom – but hey, friendship is suffering, right?

"Make sure she has shoes, too!" I heard Lisanna yell from outside the dressing room. Hardly a second passed before I was brutally assaulted by several flying pairs of shoes.

A weak smile dusted my face as I glanced in the vertical mirror on the wall. The girl who smiled back looked happier than I remember her. Huh. I guess that's what friendship can do to a girl.

Well, friendship, _and…_

A slideshow of Gray pictures shot across my brain like a depressing documentary entitled 'things I'll never get to bang 2015 edition' and I let out a sigh.

Time to get this show on the road.

.

.

.

"I'm gonna ask him." Sting shook his head back and forth like a dog that'd just been effectively sprayed with a hose. "I'm gonna ask him – _today_."

"Didn't you say that yesterday?" I pointed out, eager to crush his resolve. His face crumbled like a tin can under a tire and he let out a puff of air.

"Rude, Juvia. Just…rude." He answered with a pop of his cheeks. "All I want is for Rogue _fucking _Cheney to go to prom with me. And maybe a few other things….but…" he gave me some suggestive shifty eyes. "I'll try to keep it PG-13, for the children."

I squinted at him. "What children?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nevermind – just shut up and listen. I'm gonna ask him after fifth hour, do you think you can swing by, just in case he says no and I need chocolate?

"Uh….I guess so, but, come on, you'll do fine, champ." I awkwardly punched his shoulder and he gave me the I-can't-believe-you're-forty-years-old look.

He rolled his eyes afterwards and gave me a once-over. "So, I hear you're goin' to prom as well. Who you takin?"

My face fell. That's right, Lisanna, Levy, and Lucy had forced me, very unwillingly, into some dress that they'd congregationally decided made me look like some sort of goddess of the night, and therefore dictated that I was going to prom, whether I liked it or not. Lucy already had an itemized list of 35 possible dates. I had yet to give any of them a second look.

"I dunno." I answered, kicking the ground stubbornly. Truth was, I had no intentions of going with an actual, physical date. I'd probably just go by myself, occasionally enjoy a picture or two with Erza and Jellal, maybe spare a few side glances towards Lucy and Natsu, photobomb Gajeel as best I could, and that would hopefully be an accurate sum of my prom night. Nonetheless, it was in my best interest's to assume that life would try its very best to fuck that situation up for me.

"I could probably find some guys willing to go with you, if you need any-"

I scowled at him. "Don't make it sound like I'm a disgusting scumbag."

He cracked a smile. "Sorry. But you _are _kind of a scumbag…."

"Whatever, Sting." I muttered in fake-anger. He looped an arm around my back and tucked me closer, like I was a kitty he could shove into his sweatshirt and hide for the rest of eternity.

"You're precious, Juvia." He spoke, tugging on a spare lock of my hair playfully. "I know a million guys that would kill to date you."

"Yeah?" I responded dryly. Too bad none of them were the one I wanted.

Speaking of Gray (I mean, we all got that reference, right? At this point, if you didn't get that reference, you probably haven't been listening very well), I hadn't seen him in a good while. I was kind of craving him.

Which, now that I say out loud, in my head, sounds completely disgusting and dirty. Bad Juvia.

Since the impromptu rescue, he had managed to consume my waking (and not-waking) thoughts like some sort of horrific parasitic disease that leaves no survivors and eventually takes out the entire human race. To make it infinitely worse, every time I thought _too _hard about him, my heart would start pumping blood every which way until my face ended up the color of strawberries.

Great. Next time I saw him – I would surely make an absolute _ass _out of myself. I can't _help _it though – every time I think of him, I hear his gravelly voice from that night, telling me "_Juvia – let's go,_" over and over again like a song stuck on repeat. God, I fucking adored that asshole so much sometimes it really, _really _hurt.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Sting asked before dropping me off in Government. "And why are you blushing?"

Fuck.

"No-thing. Just thinking about…dildos…"

"Dildos?" Sting looked at me with a half amused glint. "You're a fuckin' weird chick, JuJuBee."

"Yeah." I said, licking my lips nervously. "Mhm."

"Gross. Have fun daydreaming about masturbation~" he called _especially _loudly for my entire class to hear. Great. Just what I need – a daily dose of kinkshaming.

"Hey," Erza greeted when I entered the classroom. I nodded in acknowledgment and sat down next o her, even though it wasn't technically my spot.

"Let me show you something," she said, a faint glimmer in her eyes that I fondly recognized as the _Jellal glow, _meaning that he must've done something especially noteworthy over the weekend. Erza pulled out her phone and scrolled and clicked until she was satisfied. She turned her phone to me so tht I could examine the photo.

"Oh my god." I gurgled, recognizing the image instantly. "Is that…"

"A box." Erza clarified, looking at it like it held the emotional depth of the necklace from the Titanic. "He filled it with dirt and told me to bring it to school if I didn't want to go to prom with him, and then he stuck a rose in the box with the word yes and told me to bring that if I aned to go with him." She sighed heavily. "Can you…_believe _him? He's so dorky, and creative. I love him." She blushed at the sudden declaration and looked down.

"I can't believe that fucker…" I whispered. I couldn't believe that fucker actually _took my idea **without **credit? _

"He's…" Erza trailed off, a wry smile attached to her lips. "He's so weird, I just…" then, she laughed, sweet and high pitched like a school girl in love. It was odd to hear Erza like that, but I have to say I quite enjoyed it.

"Did you take the box of dirt to school just to scare him?" I asked, a thin grin spreading across my cheeky face. She nodded guiltily and I laughed.

"He looked terrified – until I gave him the rose and said of course I would go with him." Erza recalled. I shook my head. These two dorks.

"I'm happy for you guys," I sighed, resting my cheek on my fist, kind of lowkey wishing Gray and I had that same content happiness. Instead, I would linger behind as his friend like scum clinging to the butt of a boat. It's good. I'm fine. It's all good.

"You'll find a guy Juvia," Erza consoled, patting my back softly. I shrugged and moved back to my spot all the way across the room. Solitude. Where I belonged.

.

.

.

I _may _had been anticipating seeing Gray in physics for the entire hour that calculus spanned. I'm a bored girl with not a lot to do, and he always seemed to find his way into my thoughts, as creepy as that sounded.

My eyes trained for his mop of silky dark hair, I slid into my spot silently and lurked, waiting to attack him, or glomp him, or something when he walked into the room. I don't know. Something along those lines.

"Juvia…you kinda look like you really have to throw up. Like…real bad." Lucy noted keenly. I tapped my face, the flushed heat warming them instantly. Oops.

"Sorry." I apologized for no particular reason. Lucy looked skeptical, but took her seat nonetheless.

"So…" Levy began, _wow_, I hadn't even noticed her tiny self sitting down in the chair behind Lucy. "Gray's in this class…right…?"

My head fell and slammed against my desk dramatically at the mention of his name, giving Levy the answer she had sought.

"Right," Lisanna added on unhelpfully. "I _still _think you should ask him to prom~"

"I told you, we're just _friends_," I spat bitterly, rubbing the top of my smashed forehead gently.

"Hey look, there he is!" Lucy said quickly. Unfortunately, like the real-life fucking idoot that I was, my gaze tore away from the floor and to where Lucy was pointing, much to the amusement of my asshole friends.

"She's _so _crazy about him," Lisanna whispered to levy.

Great. This is – _great_. I can't tell you how many different shades of fantastic this is.

My face probably looked like Kermit the frog when his mouth gets all smushed together, and with that lovely image in mind, Gray walked in, giving me a quick glance in my frog-mouth state, and walking over to his desk without saying anything to me at all. No nod. No wave. Just a weird look, and then silence.

Well _fuck _you too.

The girls sensed my obvious discomfort with his lack of greeting and turned to whisper amongst themselves, probably something along the lines of _whoooaa, Juvia just got highkey rejected…_

I felt an embarrassed blush heat up my face like the embers of a fireplace. _Why hadn't he said hi? _Even a wave would've sufficed – it was like he was _avoiding _me.

My eyes stayed open so long I felt them begin to water. What had I done wrong? There had to be _something, _I wasn't just being paranoid, right? This wasn't just crazy fangirl Juvia talking…it couldn't be…

I couldn't count the number of times during class my eyes locked onto the back of Gray's head, praying, _begging _for him to turn around, to _notice me, _to say something.

Of course, nothing of the sort happened. He just stared straight ahead like he usually did, and I got a massive headache.

A part of me _knew _I was just being paranoid. I'm sure Gray had better stuff to do.

Better _girls _to do, more like. God, I was so _dumb _for thinking that he cared about me for more than a half a second

"-Juvia?" I felt something poke my shoulder sharply. "Juvia…class ended three minutes ago…"

I looked up at Lucy dizzily before nodding.

"Yeah….I, uh….I knew that. Just…making sure you were paying attention…" I mumbled sleepily. Lucy nodded, as if to say _yeah, yeah, and my shoe is on fire. _I stood up, tired from overthinking and brain throbbing from worry. Why me? Why did Gray Fullbuster have to enchant _me_?

"…Right. Have fun in calc., say hi to Erza for me, will you?" Lucy waved before leaving class, stranding me in the room alone with our awkward teacher.

Not wanting to start any unnecessary conversation, I packed my stuff in my backpack as quickly as possible and hurried out to the hall, mind whirring like clockwork and eyes searching for any sign of Gray, as a last, comforting solace that he _wasn't _ignoring me after all.

The solace never came.

"Fuckity, _fuck _me." I whispered as I walked into calculus, Erza catching the familiar scent of me being pissed off the second I sat down.

Her eyes tried to meet mine, silently begging the question _what's wrong? _

But I refused to answer.

What was wrong? I knew Gray didn't love me – he probably never would, but I thought we were friends, at the least. He would've said hi if something wasn't bothering him, he _always _did.

The second calculus ended – I was _ready _for interrogation. It was health class next, only sixteen people in the class, there was no avoiding me in there. It was me and him – _only one could survive._

Ok, so that was a little dramatic. But still.

My bag was light so I could move quickly, having recently dumped all my crap into my locker because I really didn't need all that much for health class anyways. Just my brain and the will to stay awake.

I peeked in the classroom and waved at Wendy. She waved back happily, like the cutie that she was. Gray wasn't in the classroom yet. Damn!

I turned around, watching people sift though the hallway like sand through an hour glass, _honestly_, it was like people refused to move at an adequate speed just to piss everyone behind them off.

When I finally did see Gray, I was halfway between the decision to glomp him or to bite his head off. Bastard.

"Gray!" I called, cupping my hands around my mouth like one of his desperate fangirls (hey, I'm not denying anything).

He gave me a half-assed stone glance, before looking back at his friend that he was talking to, some other fuckboy asshole.

Ok, what the fuck. If I wasn't scared about him ignoring me before, I sure as _fuck _was now.

"Gray…" I whispered his name again, sort of falling out of my lips pathetically. He surely didn't hear me that time, he had stopped in front of his friend's locker to talk.

That's it. I was so done.

I stormed over to gray, looking like an angry twelve year old who got the wrong color bike for her birthday. I was gonna give this kid a piece of my damned mind if it killed me.

"_Hey_," I annunciated thinly, grabbing the back of gray's shirt and tugging him back. "_What _do you think you're doing?"

Gray's friend made an 'o' shape with his mouth.

"I….I think I'll go…" He hurried off, sensing the tension between Gray and I with ease. Good.

Gray turned to me, an indistinguishable look on his face. He said nothing, but continued to look at me blankly.

"Hey," I reiterated waving my hand in front of his face. "I'm talking to you, weirdo!"

He blinked. "What?"

My eyes scrunched up in confusion. Was he high?

I snapped my fingers in front of his face and he blinked again. "Wake up, asshole!"

"Sorry." He blinked a few more times, as if he had been asleep the whole short conversation. "What's up?"

I stared at him for a good few seconds, evaluating his health. Did I need to resuscitate him…? I know mouth-to-mouth, I mean…it's always an option…

"Are you fucking ok?" I asked instead, going the bitch route, like I always did.

He looked at me with a sort of sad, guilt ridden face that I didn't recognize as a normal face for him. And I would know. I was a Gray-face _expert._

He lifted his arm up to fist a bit of his hair tiredly, exposing his rich arm muscles to me like he was purposefully trying to give me an aneurism.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" He asked, giving me an impromptu heart attack on the spot.

I had never ditched class before, I mean, not _purposefully_. There was one time I had a substitute teacher who was like….112, and he didn't hear me scream _present _and marked me absent for math class. But that didn't really count.

"Yeah." I spoke, my mouth completely dry. "I do."

"Great." He looked relieved. "Let's go."

.

.

.

No one even gave us a second glance when we walked out of the school.

"The trick is, to act like you're _not _ditching school." Gray said, jingling his car keys in his hand and looking much more chipper than he had earlier. Which I was still reeling from, I mean, he legitimately looked like he had smoked a stack of weed and forgotten his own name.

"Oh really Gray?" I asked him dryly. "Is that the trick? I thought we were supposed to look guilty and delinquent…but I could be wrong…"

He shot me one of those sexy half smiles, and I almost clutched my heart and died.

He reached out and pointed to his truck with his car keys, directing me in the right path to ditch school.

He was the best influence.

"So, where are we going, anyways?" I asked, deciding that I probably shouldn't let Gray take me to an unknown location, because that's pretty much how most bad situations began. I trusted Gray, but, you never know.

"Dunno. Anywhere but here." He mumbled as he pulled out of his parking spot, barely paying attention to what I said.

"Alright," I shrugged, buckling my seat belt.

Speaking of seat belts…

My eyes wandered to Gray, who was not wearing his. He was too busy keeping his eyes glued to the road to notice.

Without thinking, I reached over him, feeling the warm heat coming off of his body unintentionally. I ignored the buzzing feeling in the back of my brain and grabbed his seatbelt, pulling it over him and buckling it all in the span of a half second.

He gave me a weird look and I shrugged, mortified that I had actually just done that.

"Uh…safety first." I muttered. He made a soft laughing noise before looking back to the road.

God damn it Juvia. Moron.

I avoided any sort of eye contact with him for the whole drive, I just stared out the window at the grass on the sides of the road. That was some nice grass right there. Good 'n green.

"How 'bout here?" Gray pointed across the road when we stopped at a red light. It was a residential coffee place, generally empty at this time of day. Nice.

"That sounds amazing." I said truthfully, before my stomach dropped in realization. "Shit. I don't have-"

"I'll pay." Gray said reassuringly.

I almost said 'I love you' right then and there.

When we got out of the car and hurried inside, I was pleasantly surprised to see only two other people in the shop, one sitting on their computer taking advantage of the free wifi, and the other absently stirring their drink with a textbook in hand. So casual.

Gray looked up at the menu and motioned me to come over next to him. I did, and shivered at the truth of the matter – I was ditching school to hang out with a boy. A hot boy. Holy shit, freshmen year me would be so fucking proud.

"Whaddya want? I'll just get whatever you're getting." He told me. I suddenly felt panicked. What if I got something awful and he hated me forever?

"U-um…let's just get a caramel mocha." I said nervously. Just go with something basic, then he won't hate you….

He smiled warmly. "Good choice."

Holy shit, I can't believe I'm fucking dead.

"Th-thank." I stammered awkwardly.

While he ordered our coffees, I went to go grab us a spot. I chose the couch by the window, partially because I wanted an excuse to sit next to him, and…well…come to think of it, that was pretty much the only reason I chose the spot. I need help.

Gray came over with the coffee shortly after, expertly balancing them in one hand as he took the spot next to me. I thankfully took my coffee and blew on the top, watching the smoke billow around like happy fog.

"So," Gray began, stretching back while casually sipping at his boiling hot coffee. "I'll be completely honest – there's a reason I wanted you to come here alone today."

Oh boy. If that wasn't something I'd always wanted to hear from him…

"Go on," I encouraged, motioning the boy to stop halting his sentence every time I looked slightly confused.

"Well…it all kinda started with something Lyon kind of…mentioned…" He immediately went dark and I felt a lightbulb shatter in my head.

"Oh no." I gurgled. "What'd he say?"

"Well…" the guilty look on his face wouldn't go away. "He seemed…_convinced, _that you…you're…."

I felt a pang in my gut, like a sixth sense warning me I would throw up if I heard the next word that came out of Gray's mouth.

Gray shifted his mouth to the side. "I don't really want to say it out loud 'cuz I think it's rude. But…anyways…."

I felt my insides run sour. He didn't say the word – but I _knew _the word nonetheless. It was one I'd heard too many times for all the wrong reasons.

S-l-u-t.

It's a funny word, really. It shouldn't be used as an insult, the actual definition was just a woman with many sexual partners. Why was that bad? Why should _anyone _care how many people a woman sleeps with, as long as they're not being unfaithful?

But I'd seen it thrown around before – nowadays the word is synonymous with _literal filth _and _scum of the earth._ Why did it have to be like that?

The reason I know so much about the word probably has something to do with my mom. She'd not exactly the most stable hip in the harbor – but she's _my _mom, and she tries her damn hardest, and I love her for it. I remember one time, I was probably around eight, we were shopping and my mom didn't have enough time to go to the store by herself since I had swimming practice, so she went underwear shopping with me there. I hung around the aisle while she grabbed some stuff, but I would never forget the group of teenagers, probably around the age I am now, call her a _slut _when they saw her choices in clothing as they walked past.

I didn't know what the word meant at the time, but my mom was so angry we left without buying anything. When we got home she locked herself in her room and cried.

I had no idea what was going on but I was pretty sad, too. It was unusual to see my mom crying out of sadness. I mean, she cries a lot, usually because there're ducks in the backyard or because my dad accidentally shaved his head, stupid stuff like that. She was a happy crier, but that time, there was nothing happy about it.

I hated that word so much. I hated what it did to women and I hated how it made people feel when they're called it.

Just hearing Lyon thinking of calling me it made my blood boil like lava.

"Juvia? Did you hear anything I just said?" Gray said. I blinked.

"Yeah." I spoke, suddenly furious. "Yeah, I did. You and Lyon think I'm a slut just because I have a lot of friends who happen to be guys, right? Is that right?" I heard my voice come out a lot more shrilly than I had intended, but oh well.

Gray' eyes widened. "What? No! I don't think that about you, I'm just-"

"How _shallow-_"

"_-worried-_"

"-can you _be?_"

_"-_you're _using _me!"

I stopped speaking, knowing full well I hadn't bothered to stop talking while he was.

"What did you say?" I begged for clarification, noticing the taken aback look he held.

"I…I said…I don't know, I just want to make sure you're not…using me." He breathed out, completely embarrassed. I blinked in confusion.

"Using you for _what_? Coffee?" I gestured to the coffee in my hand, bewildered that he would say something as ludicrous as that. If anything, he was using me! I mean, I was supporting him to go to the college he wished, and I was lying on his behalf! This _idiot _thought I would use him?

"I know! It's stupid! I just – it wouldn't be the first time I've had a girl play me like that. I don't know…I'm sorry. I trust you." He repeated. I looked down, and then back up at him.

"I'm sorry Gray. But I'm your…I'm your _friend_. I would never use you." I chose my words carefully, no matter how hard they hurt.

He shut his eyes and made an angry humming sound. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I got so freaked out about it. I just…y'know, I kinda like ya. And I'd hate for you to turn out to be an asshole."

I smiled sarcastically. "I _am _an asshole Gray. I thought you knew that by now."

At that point, I was just kind of trying _not _to melt into oblivion due to the fact that he had admitted he _liked _me – even if it was just as a friend.

"Yeah, but you're a good asshole." He patted my head and nudged my hand. "Finish your coffee."

"_Bossy_," I murmured into the cup as I sipped slowly. It was still pretty hot, I had absolutely no idea how he'd managed to swallow it pretty much whole while it was still lava hot.

He made a scoffing noise and looked out the window, all smug and happy like he had just secured himself an oscar. I wondered how long he had been burdening the worry of me using him – had it been since the rescue?

I almost dropped my coffee. The rescue. Right.

"Um…you know, about last weekend…"

He looked at me with a small smile. "It's fine, you don't have to say anything else about it. It's all over, ok?"

I felt relief flood through my system like a serene river, spreading across every nerve and fibre gently. That was a rather annoying effect he had on me.

"Y-yeah, but, I mean…thanks. Again. I'll probably never be able to fully thank you for that." I admitted.

"That's ok. I'll make you repay me in several small favors, no big deal." He joked. I narrowed my eyes in response.

"Asshole." I muttered. He shrugged, as if to say, _what are you going to do about it?_

I sipped my coffee, holding it extremely close to my face so he wouldn't be inclined to believe my blush was due to his proximity. Yup. I was _totally _blushing because of the heat of the coffee. Let's go with that.

"How did you applications go?" I asked him quietly. He perked up immediately, like a ray of sunshine had hit the back of his neck and he was just not receiving the warmth.

"Great! I got mine in _just _on time, I'm just waiting for a response." He rubbed his hands together like he was plotting something particularly evil. I eyed him strangely and he obediently stopped.

"And…how did your parents react? To the whole…'not accepting Magnolia U' scholarships?" I asked cautiously. His lips pursed and I cringed – I must've hit a nerve.

"Well…they were _not _happy." He summed up. My face fell, before he added something else. "…At first."

I looked up out of curiosity. He nodded.

"We did it."

I smiled so hard my face hurt. That was so cute – he said _we. _Us. We had done it – I'd helped Gray follow his dream and do what he wanted to do.

Without thoughts, I jumped forward and threw my arms around his shoulders, a tiny bit of coffee spilling onto the couch, but I didn't really care.

"I'm so proud of you," I whispered, realizing that I sounded like a reminiscent mother.

He was silent for a bit, accepting my affection, like he was processing my words letter by letter. Then, I felt one of his arms slide over my back, passing the curls at the base of my hair and pulling me a millimeter closer.

"Thanks," he whispered into the crook of my neck.

I_ almost _spontaneously burst into flames.

I felt a faint buzzing in my pocket, but I didn't care. The police could be calling me and telling me I was under arrest for tax fraud and I _wouldn't _care, I just wanted to sit here, being hugged by Gray, enveloped by warmth and the smell of coffee for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, nothing good in life lasts.

He slowly released me, delirious and a little bit high on coffee fumes, back into the couch where I belonged. Honestly, I could've melted into that dirty couch cushion and ceased to live, I was so happy. ditching school had never been more worthwhile.

"What about you? Are you going back on the swim team?" he asked conversationally. I blinked, slow like syrup. Had he just said something? Swim team, right, right….  
"Uh…yeah! Coach was pretty pissed off and he made me swim extra laps…" I internally cringed, my thighs still ached fro those bad boys. "But I'm back on…I should be up and ready for state, and I won't have to worry about Evergreen holding me back now…" I smiled evilly. He returned the smile.

"Kick some asses, will ya?" He asked me. I nodded.

"You bet."

My phone buzzed again, and me, feeling slightly annoyed, decided to ignore it. After all, when was I going to get the chance to go on a sort-of date with Gray again?

"And Evergreen? You haven't heard from her at all, right? Because if you do, just let me know, and I'll-"

"Gray," I interrupted him. "It's fine – I haven't heard from her _at all. _Pretty sure you scared the shit out of her back at the beach…"

He blushed. He – actually – _fucking_ – blushed!

"Sorry 'bout that. I was kinda pissed." He admitted slowly.

"_Kinda_?" I laughed. He shrugged.

"Ok, I was _really _pissed. There's _no _way you should've had to deal with all that shit by yourself. She needed a taste of her own medicine." He explained away.

"You're not wrong," I agreed with him hastily.

"Right. Still, I'm glad you don't have to worry about that anymore. Nope, the only thing you have to worry about is the kind of _favors _I'll be asking you for…" he said suggestively.

I almost choked.

"You…what?"

He burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding! You take stuff way too seriously, Juvia." He choked out in between laughs.

Right…I was so relieved…

I laughed along with him awkwardly. My phone buzzed again, it must've been the ninetieth time.

"Looks like someone wants to talk to you," Gray said, eyeing my ass (ok, so he wasn't _really _eyeing my ass, he was eyeing my pocket, which contained my phone. But the pocket was on my ass, so I get partial credit).

"Uh…I guess I'll check it out." I said thinly, trying not to sound as bitter as I felt. I just wanted to talk with him for every single hour of every day for the foreseeable future was that really asking all that much?

I picked up my phone and turned it on, surprised to see about eighteen messages, most of them not even more than one word.

_BITCH_

_YOU_

_LEFT_

_ME!_

I squinted at the messages. What the fuck?

They were all from Sting…was he high, or something?

I _left him_?

Wait.

I looked at the time. Almost one. It would be around sixth hour back at school.

…I had missed fifth hour.

I was supposed to meet Sting then, he was going to ask Rogue to go to prom with him.

Which could only mean…

"Oh no," I spoke, and Gray looked at me out of concern.

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

"I need to get back to school." I panicked. "_Now_."

He blinked and nodded. "Ok, let's roll."

.

.

.

"He _rejected _me!"

Sting – _wailing _at the top of his lungs was not the picture I wanted to return to, especially after spending an almost-ideal-kind-of date with Gray for a good while.

"I'm really sorry Sting," I rubbed his back comfortingly as we sat on the front lawn of school, our homeroom teachers both releasing us on the excuse that Sting was pretty much having a meltdown. It was last hour, so they weren't really all that strict on where we were headed, so long as we didn't make a ruckus. Which, Sting was doing a pretty bad job of, hence me trying to calm him down to the best of my ability.

"He _hates _me! He's going with some girl named _Yukino_, how could I even compete? She has _boobs!_" He clutched his chest, grasping the area where boobs would be located if he had any.

"I know, it's a tragedy. I'd lend you mine if they weren't so…permanent." I joked in bad taste, regretting my decision in an instant.

"You're a shitty friend Juvia. I love you a lot." He sobbed into my sleeve pathetically.

"Uh…thanks?" I patted his soft spikes and let his tears soak into my shirt. It was seventh hour now anyways, so I wouldn't have to worry about anyone important seeing me in this state of distress.

"Why is life terrible and awful?" He asked rhetorically. Jesus Christ, I was going to get a damn migraine.

I mean, I felt his pain, but….he just needed one giant chill pill.

"It's because if life were great and awesome, that'd be too easy." I answered him cheaply.

"I want life to be easy. I'm sick of all these unnecessary difficulties." He sat up, suddenly refreshed and replenished. How the hell did he manage that? Fuck beautiful people, honestly. With the uncanny ability to sob like a baby and still look gorgeous five minutes later.

"Oh yeah? Good luck with that." I told him dryly.

"Uuuuugh…" He groaned, resting his head on my shoulder and shaking it, condemning the world straight to hell. "I hate being lonely. Juvia, will you go to prom with me?"

Thoughtlessly, I answered him. "Sure thing."

He blinked and sat up. "What? Really?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm not going with anyone else."

"Oh." He said succinctly. "I figured you were going with your hot piece of ass – I mean, _Fullbuster_." He winked and I almost threw up.

"Him? _Please_. I'm a second-rate throw rug compared to him." I twirled a piece of my hair subconsciously, pretending it was a strand of rug and I really was just something Gray could step on all day long.

Sting made a _pfft _sound and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "We'll be the hottest couple there, just you wait!"

"Make Rogue see what he's missing out on?" I added cheekily. Sting winked and I shook my head. I have horrible taste in friends.

"'Course. What color are we wearin' sweet cheeks," he mocked, squishing my cheek and grinning.

"Midnight blue. Better not mess it up." I advised him. He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Great. I look hot in that color. Can't wait to romance the literal _fuck _out of you."

"…Maybe word that a little bit differently…."

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled and stood up, reaching down to pull me up chivalrously. Unfortunately, when I did offer him my arm, he yanked me up so hard I yelped. He laughed at the unpleasant noise and I smacked him in the back of the head.

"Shut up, or I'll dump you." I threatened. He gasped.

"You _wouldn't_," He jeered, jabbing my side in a well-known sensitive area and I jumped.

"I'll dump your ass _so _fast you won't even have time to ask me why~" I cautioned him. In fake shock, he lifted his hand over his mouth and gasped.

I laughed and he smiled.

"Thanks Juvia." He thanked me genuinely. I tipped my invisible hat to him and he shook his head.

"I love ya, but you sure are weird." He told me truthfully.

"You're not wrong." I replied. "You're definitely _not _wrong."

.

.

.

The next few days were fairly hectic for me – teachers wanting to do their best to pile on the homework _before _prom weekend, because they knew full well nobody would be getting any shit done while hungover.

Things got a little weird on Wednesday, however.

I ran into Gray about five minutes before class, pretty early on, especially for physics, so we had some spare time to kill in the halls before walking into hell's favorite classroom.

"Hey, so, I was wondering something…" He started, scratching the back of his head a little bit, maybe out of nervousness, I wasn't quite sure.

"What's that?" I probed him. Anything Gray had to say interested me.

"Well….were you thinking about going to prom?" he asked me. I felt a nerve spike in my system and my heart starting beating unusually fast. I wouldn't be surprised if I was spewing sweat everywhere I was so nervous.

"Uh, y-yeah, you know, my friends were gonna drag me there, senior year and all…" _oh god I'm rambling Juvia shut the fuck up-_

"Cool, cool…" he trailed off, looking around the halls like he wanted a different topic of conversation to come up. "So, uh, anyways, in that light, did you uh…want to…um…y'know…"

"I can _feel _myself getting older here, Gray." I poked rudely. He shook his head like he was trying to wake up from a bad dream.

"Right. Uh. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me, you know. As friends, of course!" He finally spit out.

My entire body stiffened. Nononononono_no._ What kind of sick joke was this? Really life? You fucking _asshole_?

"I…I…I…"

Well, wait to go. You sound intelligent, you goddamn dipshit.

"I'm…uh…I'd…"

Gray looked at me with one eyebrow raised, silently asking me if I was having a stroke or if I was always this illiterate.

"I'd love to! I mean, but…" the emotion disappeared off of his face, like a spider moments after being spotted. "I…_can't. _I already said I'd go with someone else." I said, mentally damning Sting's gay ass to the pits of hell so he could chill with all the other sinners.

"Oh." He said monotonously. I almost started bawling _right _there, on the floor in front of my physics classroom. This was _so, fucking, unfair._

"I'm sorry." I said quickly. He shook his head.

"Don't be! At all! It's just…I don't want to be rude, but…who are you…?"

"Oh. Sting. But, we're just going as friends!" I waved it off to be as trivial as possible.

I could be mistaken – but I'm almost _positive _I saw his eyes harden, and my heart fluttered like a helpless, dying salmon.

"Sting. I see." He said. "I hope you have fun."

My face dropped. By fun, I was pretty sure he meant something more along the lines of _Chlamydia, _but, you know. Whatever.

"Uu-uh, you too! I'll see you there, right?" I asked hopefully. He shrugged, like _I go wherever the wind takes me_, and then he walked into class like he hadn't been sorta rejected by me.

Holy shit.

I _rejected _Gray Fullbuster.

I patted my cheeks to make sure I was indeed alive, and this wasn't just some awful nightmare to spite me for my past sins.

I pinched my arm and it left a tiny red mark on my frustratingly white skin. Boo. It's not a dream alright.

I can't believe the cruel, dramatic irony of this. The one time I had an opportunity to get semi-romantic with Gray. The _one time._ And I just _had _to fuck it up by going out of my way to be a good friend. Well, fuck you, universe. I'm done being a good person. I'll be a fucking asshole and let's just see what _you _can do about it.

Anyways.

Aside from that tragedy, my interactions with Gray got less and less frequent as the days drew closer to prom. The swim team, though obscure, managed to climb the ranks a bit, our reputation having been severely damaged during the time I was away. We got crushed by a few lower grade schools, setting us out of state, but we still had the possibility of winning a few tournaments, no thanks to me. And I'm not usually a very confident person, but _maaaan_, I carried that team on my shoulders.

My favorite meet was one away meet at a high school up north where I was pretty sure there were more moose than people. Besides that interesting tidbit, I happened to notice a few key members of the Fullbuster family. Gray, silently sitting atop the bleachers, had watched me keenly (I made sure to really flaunt my legs that day – gotta dress to impress) and even Lyon, who seemed to actually maybe be able to tolerate me for a short period of time. Even Ultear came, she told me I really 'kicked those cake-eater's asses' after the meet and asked if she could borrow my shampoo. I let her keep the whole bottle.

Gray didn't come up to talk to me after the meet, he went straight out to the parking lot to his car. I had to admit – it was pissing me off a bit that he was being such a baby about the prom thing. I mean, _sure_, friends could get jealous, but Gray never really struck me as the jealous type. Hell, what did he even have to be jealous about? The fact that me, local trashcan ambassador, had more friends besides him?

The worst part was, before I could go over and ask Gray why he was acting like a pissbaby, I got stopped by crack hair extraordinaire.

"Well, well, well….if it isn't Juvia Lockser, my favorite pixy-stick addict. How's life? Feelin' good?" He asked me sarcastically. I had the nerve to outwardly pretend to gag and he laughed obnoxiously loudly.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase here. I'm not here to pick a fight with you. I came to make amends." He told me. I raised my eyebrows so high they begged to fly off my face into the sky, the personification of _gotta blast_.

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I've been kind of a huge tool to you, for all the wrong reasons. You were just trying to help out Gray, and I appreciate that now, I guess." He apologized half heartedly. But, it _was _coming from Lyon, so I took it for what it was worth.

"Thanks, I guess. We're cool, just, don't _ever_-" I cut myself off to take a quick breath. "-_ever_, call me the s-word. And we won't have a problem. K?"

He looked at me with a tight expression. "Ahhhh…sure. Sorry 'bout that, you know…I just wanted to look out for him-"

"I get it." I said understandingly. "Now get out of here, I'm sick of your face, ugly."

He cracked a smile. "You're a cool chick. You're gonna be one hilarious sister-in-law."

Wait, what was that last thing?

"The _fuck _did you just say?" I called out to him as he was already racing to his car at light speed, desperate to outrun my rage. Before he drove away, I happened to lock eyes with Gray in the car. He smiled lightly, a congratulatory one, before looking back out the opposite window.

Dick.

.

.

.

I was laying in my bed, half thinking about what Gray would look like in a suit and tie, and half thinking about what I should have for dinner despite it being 11:30 p.m., when I got a call from Sting.

"What's the word?" I asked him tiredly, digging my hands into the deep, billowing pockets of my sweatpants which only clung loosely to my hips. Comfy.

"_So, you'll never guess who I got an earful from today_." He began, voice slightly scratchy because his cell reception at his house was absolute garbage.

"Your mom?" I guessed, pretty much just to annoy him. He made an unattractive snorting noise.

"_No…I think you'll like this one, though…"_

I blinked and sat up, rubbing my eyes so I could actually focus. "Who was it?"

"_Guess_."

"Fuck you."

"…_Fair enough._"

"So?" I pressured, tugging at the split ends on my hair. "Who yelled at you?"

"_Your pet boyfriend._"

I choked. "Gajeel?"

Sting made a similar choking sound. "_What? Studs McGee? No way! I mean Gray, you delusional dolphin skank."_

Dolphin skank. That was actually new.

Wait, _Gray_?

"What the hell?" I asked loudly, covering my mouth a second afterwards. My parents were asleep. Or, fucking. I have no idea, their room is all the way on the other side of the house.

"_Yeah, I know. I found it pretty weird too, but you know. Still happened."_

"Well, tell me what he _said _you ratbitch." I demanded.

"_Ok, ok. Calm your big, beautiful titties._" I subconsciously looked down at my boobs. He really wasn't all that wrong. _"It was about you, funny enough?_"

I was practically bursting at the seams with anticipation. "Keep talking asshole! Don't withhold information!"

"_Fine, fine. So, basically, it was after a team collections meeting from hockey, after everyone left I stuck around to see if any soccer players wanted to make out under the bleachers or somethin', when here comes your pretty boy all in a huff about somethin'."_

He paused and I almost lost it. "Hurry uuppppp!"

_"Alright, alright, yeesh. Anyways, he came up to me and started asking me a bunch of leadin' questions, like I was on the fuckin' bench in the middle of a session of Judge Judy. Fuckin' intense, that guy is – I didn't realize it until he really started to get into it. He usually only gets that intense during hockey games. He really is a beast on the ice, you know that? One time-"_

"Focus, Sting…" I reminded, my voice tight and fabric-like.

_"Right, right. I finally tell him to get to the fucking point, and he tells me that I better not mess around with you, or he'll kick my ass six ways from sundown."_

My jaw dropped like a teacup to the floor. "He _said _that?"

"_You betcha. I wouldn't lie to you about this – trust me, at that point, I wanted to bone him, too, but I figured, he was your man candy first, and if there is one thing I'm not, it's a backstabbing hoe."_

"Sure," I dragged. "Did he say anything else?"

"_Well, after I assured him I was not about to go stickin' it to any chick – no matter how lovely the chick may be – he got a lot less intense and apologized, then he just left. I'm tellin' ya Juvs – I'm callin' it right now – shit's gonna go down at prom, and I'm thinkin' you and Gray might end up…you know, doing the-"_

"Ew, Sting, shut up. Gross." I said, embarrassed as ever. What I really wanted to tell him was _don't get my hopes up, _but, you know. Silence is a virtue.

"_Come oonn, I know you wanna~ Don't worry, I'll be sure to give him at least one dance with you at prom. Wouldn't want to get in between that man and his woman again, jeez._"

My blush was heating up the entire room. "I'm not _his woman, _Sting. Be quiet."

"_You'd better tell him that, because he certainly seemed to treat you like you were his when he was ready to pound my ass – not in the good way – for takin' you to prom._"

I rolled my eyes at his blatant sex joke and sighed. "Go to bed, Sting."

"_Will do. Got a wet dream starring your boyfriend in queue, I'll see you tomorrow, prom date._"

"Fucking disgusting." I mumbled before hanging up on him. _That _was my prom date.

My heart was still pounding even minutes after hanging up. He was _that _protective over me? Me?

Maybe, just _maybe, _there was a part of Gray that liked me, even in the tiniest bit.

And if that part did exist, I was going to make it come into the light, for sure. At prom.

Right. I'd just have to wait until prom, then, I would get my final closure on Gray Fullbuster.

.

.

.

**pls dont kill me.**

**like ive said before, i only technically have three more chaps planned...buuut, next chap could be split into two parts, and depending on which ending i do, blah, blah blah, whatever**

**also, we hada huge influx of newcomers. hi guys. im dumb and welcome to my shit story.**

**special thank you to **muffindragon227, **who never ceases to be helpful to me dork self like ALL THE TIME, i love you SO MUCH KATE, and cheska, **merudy **who shamelessly promod this fic even tho its complete shit. ily cheka. talk on skype more, i miss u.**

**review responses (hooo boi theres a lot this should b fun)**

* * *

Smu: holy shit im cryin i just now realized how late this update it :,) anyways thank youuuand dont worry, your high school experience will be great!

Kiri: : , )

Raphiix3: wow love me raph

endingsarenotalwaysbad: HHHOOOLLY SHI T! YOUR REVIEW WAS SO LONG I WAS LIKE SOBBIN OK PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING YOU WROTE MADE ME CRY YOURE SO N ICCE OMG plus you pay attention to sooo much detail and notice all this stuff im planning on bringing back so wink wink nie job and THANK U HERES A MILLIONN DOLLARS SORRY IM SO LATE

hananodoku: ahh thank you for your input on the ending! ill keep that in mind!

GuestsDontTwerkTheyRead: THANK YOU ! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER TOO!

yukinos: ahh i rlly like your penname anYWAYS thank you soooo much for your lovely review and i hope this chapter was to your satisfaction

clarity . yuna: ahhh thank you and im glad i made u laugh xD

LateNightShips: I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS THEY ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE! and you had a few since last update so dont worry ill answer to all of them XD thank youuu

gruvia-raid: AAAHH THANK V MUCH! and i was considering combining both endings at this point...we'll see i guess lol! THANKS FOR REVIEWING ILY!

AsDarknessSpreads: (i always enjoy your reviews OTL) pffft, we all hate evergreen (in this story at least) and im glad u thought gray was hot, that was the goal ;) ily

merudy: HERES UR STUVIA CHEKA OMG IM FUCKING CRYING I CANT BELIEVE YOUUUU AHAHAHAH maybe ill add meredy in the end, just 4 u AND SORRY U HAD TO WAIT SO LONG ; - ; ILY

laefa: ahhh im so glad u liked gray hmmmm ;) thank you for reviewing~~

moodymoot14: THANK YOU! i am thinking abt doing both endings! haha, u notice things nicely, the butterfly keychain might have some importance (?) but TANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW AND I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTEEERR

NeverInUrWildestDreams: thank youuu! AND AAAAA ONE DIRECTION OMFG IM SUCH A FAN HBSJNLIHBJ IM SO GLAD SOMEONE ELSE APPRECIATES MY CHILDREN ; - ; THANKS FOR YOUR REVIIEEWWW~~

stinghotdork: HOLLY SHIT IM CRYI NG THIS REVIEW IS SO SWEET THANK YOU I LOVE YOOU SO MUUCH *HUGS*

Leaffeather: ahhh nalu is going to be next chapter, i promise! theyre a p great couple! and haha thank youuu for reviewing!

LateNightShips: o there were like 4 reviews in a row so ill answer them all in one, first of all AAAAHHHH THIS CHAPTER IS SO LATE AND IM SORRY ! STUFF HAPPENED IDK, AND YESSS I SAW ALL THE GRUVIA STUFF THAT WENT ON IN THE MANGA IT WAS ALL OVER MY TUMBLR DASHBOARD IT WAS AMAAAZING OMG, eheheh i feel guilty bc the last chapter is hopefully going to be around spring-summer, not christmas (rip my late updating OTL) hahah YOU DID GET THE 200TH REVIEW THANK YOUUU! AND IM SORRY I SCARED YOU IVE JUST BEEN DED, BUT ANYWAYS I LOVE YOU SOO MUCH THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING AnD SUPPORTING MEEE!

Kiri: ahh yeah there was something weird going on with asks xD oh welll, IM SO GLAD U HAVE A TUMBLR NOOWWW!

potato: sorry fam lol

PeoniesandPoppies: ahhh THANK YOU! YOU ARE TOO KIND AND I LOVE YOU!

hinoirilwin: THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS REVIEW WAS SO SWEET IT MADE ME BLUUUUSH AWEE i appreciate u sm!

of the deep sea: fukin nerd

fallenstar2013: :0 someone who loves curse words as much as i do! ahhh thank you for your kind review, it means a lot to me, thank you both!

kissandmakeupgrl: THANK YOU! orry this update is so late and i hope u like it !

Guest: omg...guest...youre too sweet...lets date ;) ily and thank you soo much YOU ARE TOO CUTE

LateNightShips: YESS IM OK i cant remember if i answered this in pm lol BUT I REALLY HOPE U LIKE THIS CHAP ; - ;

merudy: cheska-kun...oopsie

TAEMiNATOR18: THANK YOU! IM GLAD YOU LIKE IT!

Yeyosky: :000 THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS WHOLE REVIEW WAS CUTE AND SWEETI LOVE YOUUU

Wolf to the Stars: thank you! and haha maybe lyon likes juvia a lil bit ;)

Gray-Chan Fallen: thank you! oo and im glad you can relate to juvia! i really hope u enjoy this chaaap!

umthisfuckingsuc: omg same (nice penname btw omg XD)

Leaffeather: thank you for reviewing agaaaain ily and yure asking all the right questions ;)

Evilkitten3: haha yeah, cobra would totally be that kid xD thanks for reviewing!

Magirarose: THANK YOU OMFG!

Magirarose: HAHAHAHA I AGREE, i curse way too much xD oh fucking well amiright

Magirarose: WAAAAH THANK YOU LETS GET MARRIED! SORRY FOR THIS LATE LATE CHAPTER OMFG FORGIVE MEE AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS ILYSM

animelover2509: AAAA IM SO GLAD YOU LOVE BADASS JUVIA! THANKS!

Guest: HERES UR UPDATE 15 DAYS LATE RIP IM SORRY

SN2797: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWWING! happy new yeeaaars! i do plan on doing both endings, and i reaaaallly hope you enjoy this chapter ilyy!

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**that only took me an hour rip. updateheadsortails2k15 was a complete success. thank you all SO MUCH for all of your support, feel free to message me any time (im really talkative lol) and happy new year!**


	13. Abandon Ship

**things requested in this chapter**

**-stuvia, lyvia, canon gruvia, fucking gruvia kiss (yall are thirsty damn), stingue, and meredy**

**things delivered in this chapter**

**-stuvia**

**please do me a huge favor and lower your expectations**

* * *

"Hey, so, I have a question," Sting drawled, having the fucking time of his life fiddling with his tie. There was literally nothing wrong with it, but part of me wondered if he just liked to look like he was important.

"Fire away," I instructed him with a huff. Like my instruction would actually have an impact on whatever he was about to ask, anyway.

"If you've got _these_," he murmured, snapping the spaghetti straps of my elusive midnight blue prom dress curtly, prompting myself to grab his collar forcefully.

"Hey, hey, relax! Just hear me out!" He laughed, humored by my instincts smash his vital organs into jelly. I released his collar generously and allowed him to continue.

"So…where's your bra?" He inquired, gesturing to my shoulders and how they were bra strap-less, and to my chest, which generously showed the assets I normally hid under lock and key.

"It's called a strapless bra, genius." I answered him. He gaped at me like I had just made that up on the spot.

"You don't say," he mused, tapping his chin like I'd provoked a scholarly thought. "Next you'll tell me they've invented bras that hook in the _front_."

Before I could bother to enlighten him in bra science, Lucy grabbed me by the arm painfully quickly. Her arms were as bony as they came, it was like being stabbed with a javelin, but the javelin was as soft as velvet. She moisturizes.

"_You_, look _gorgeous!_" She exclaimed, her eyes were shimmery like she happened to dump a bottle of glitter in them before arriving at Lisanna's place for the pre-prom photos and mini-party. Natsu trailed closely behind her, offering me a wave of condolence. I awkwardly returned it.

"And _you_," Lucy turned to Sting, pointedly smashing her nail against his chest. "Had _better _treat her like a princess."

Sting looked mildly offended. "Why me? Can't she treat _me_ like a princess? I'm obviously the pretty one in the relationship."

Lucy sent us a look of bewilderment and I tried to convey to her that for us, this was normal.

"Great. Princess Sting, why don't you go grab me a Dr. Pepper. I'm feeling positively _parched_." I bopped his nose with my finger and shooed him away from me, despite his very un-princess like sneer. This was mainly a clever tactic to steer him away from my slightly normal friends, which he thankfully fell for.

"He's a…he's interesting." Lucy commented, before squeezing my arm some more. "So? Are you excited? I _told _you it was going to be fun! And I _knew _you'd have no trouble getting a date!" Lucy bubbled a million words at once.

"Uh…sure. Time of my life." I confirmed her belief. She smiled, and I was instantly blinded by the rays of her beauty. Unfair, by the way.

"You should probably head back to your dragon over there, he seems a bit steamed I've kept him out of his company for so long…" I teased. Feeling comfortable with Natsu, or any guy, for that matter, around Lucy, was a bit of a new sensation for me. I felt like my child had grown up and I was watching her date for the first time. I was scared, proud, and worried.

"Ooo, don't wait up!" Lucy nudged me and winked. Gross.

She bounded back to Natsu and looped arms with him, he practically sucked up her essence like a vacuum and made sure that her arm was as close to his as possible.

At least Lucy was happy, I mean. That was the least she deserved.

"Why do you _always _look like someone just shoved an entire lemon wedge up your asshole?" Sting asked me moments later, throwing my Dr. Pepper at me surreptitiously, and conveniently missing my dress, by which I'd have cleanly murdered him if he were to have ruined it.

"Well, you would know a thing or two about shoving other things up assholes, wouldn't you?" I fired back, sipping the remainder of my Dr. pepper 9which he had opened and drank ¾ of the can), in satisfaction. He let out a low whistle.

"Low-blow. And by blow, I mean-"

"I know what you mean." I interrupted dryly.

"No but seriously. Juvia. My rain bean. My one and only, _disgustingly _straight friend. Whom also has impeccable taste in men. What is the matter." Sting asked me gracefully, toying with a bouncy lock of my hair that I had purposefully let fall out of my tight, meticulous bun.

"I'm just…" I looked around, searching for the answer as if I'd find it among the luminous crowds in Lisanna's front yard. "…jaded."

"Jaded?" Sting asked. "At 18? For god's sake Juvia, you're going to be married to a legion of cats by the time you're 28. Live a little?"

Instead of dignifying him, I just leaned against his shoulder a tiny bit, forcing him to carry some of my dead weight without making it look like he was doing so. This gave me the excellent opportunity to scope out the scene.

Natsu and Lucy were still visible, mingling with guests all about the lawn, I'm sure Lucy's bubble-gum sweet personality mixed with Natsu's weird unexplainable popularity would allow them to do so with ease. She glowed bright in the sunlight, like she'd been dusted with liquid gold before arriving, and her shimmering pale pink dress absolutely didn't wash her out like it did me, it only made her look as stunning as I always knew her to be. Natsu was one lucky, average looking not-so-bad-after-all asshole.

Lisanna was going with Bixlow. Bixlow? Who the _fuck _is Bixlow? Hell if I know. He seemed nice enough, and it looked like he was positively sweating his balls off, what with Elfman glaring holes in his back for even being within the vicinity of his adorable baby sister, that on top of the fact that Lisanna could kill a man with the sharpness of her eyeliner and the sheer red of her long, silky dress.

Speaking of red.

Erza may as well have just roundhouse kicked me to the fucking face and then stabbed me in the stomach when she arrived. Because, _yeah._ Surprise, surprise, she looked fucking push-me-off-a-cliff gorgeous.

The extremity of her royal purple dress and full out curled hair was that of a 9.9 on the Richter Scale. Pretty sure several people had to evacuate and take a breather.

Jellal's soul departed from himself the moment he saw her, I'm sure. His eyes were a disgusting shade of I'm-in-love and his smile was a goofy sort of squiggly line, like halfway through drawing his mouth he had decided to take a nap and fail.

Erza and Jellal were sitting on Lisanna's front porch, he was basking in her beauty and Erza was providing it while talking about something Jellal clearly had no comprehension of, his brain fried by the waves of her ultraviolet beauty. Not much different from usual, I guess.

My eyes scanned the rest of the yard, unfamiliar and barely familiar couples and groups scattered throughout. I saw Kinana, my precious sweet roll, hanging off of the arm of Cobra, who was the human equivalent of cyanide poisoning.

Kinana's smile was as wide as ever, and I offered her a brief wave of recognition. She waved back enthusiastically, and Cobra looked like he was about to flat-line from boredom.

"No sign of your charming boyfriend," Sting mused, noticing my people-watching ad smirking.

"Would you shut up with that? He is _not _my boyfriend." I argued, cringing as the words flew out of my mouth. I sounded like an angry kindergartener on a play-date.

Sting nodded. "I _know_, it's ridiculous. You have the perfect opportunity to tap would _could _be labeled as the most perfect man this universe has ever laid its eyes on, and yet you're too busy shoving lemons up your ass to pay attention to him." He summarized.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes Sting, you're absolutely right. I have paid _zero _attention to Gray ever since we've become friends, and I have never ever considered tapping him."

Sting raised a single eyebrow and shifted his weight onto one leg. "Ahhh, so you _do _like him."

"As a friend."

"God _dammit _Juvia." Sting groaned, resting his head on top of mine and sighing. "You're a piece of work who's never going to get laid."

"Says you, super-virgin." I muttered. Sting looked positively offended.

"At least I'm not_ hetero_." Sting murmured, like it was an absolute death sentence instead of a sexual orientation.

"Whatever. Wanna go talk to Erza?" I asked him, feeling uncomfortable with the onslaught of people whom I didn't recognize. Sting shrugged.

"Don't you think her boyfriend will get jealous?" Sting hinted. I didn't quite understand his reference, so I stepped on his foot to get him to shut up.

"_Ow, _jesus christ, what the hell is on your foot, king Arthur's sword?" He asked, cringing as he bounced up and down to cradle his damaged foot.

"Don't be a wuss. Want to go pretend to have sex in Lisanna's room?" I asked him out of pure boredom. And I was in the mood to screw with Lisanna.

"_Hell _yes." Sting pretended to pray like he had been waiting for my offer all day.

Eagerly, he grabbed my hand and we raced inside, threading through groups of people being sentimental assholes in the kitchen and eating all of the Strauss's food. Not that I wasn't technically apart of that crowd, because I'd definitely caused a significant dent in their Ritz cracker supply.

Before we could make the trip upstairs to Lisanna's room, we were stopped by Medusa. I mean Evergreen.

"Juvia," she greeted icily, absorbing my outfit with her eyes and a judgmental glare. She was sporting a painfully green dress that hugged her curves so tight there was a small chance she might pop out of it like bread dough in one of those poppable containers.

"Evergreen. I love what you've done with your…whole…thing…" I gestured to her face and body and she made a sour face.

"Whatever. I just hope you're happy. And just because you've got Gray wrapped around your little finger doesn't mean I have to like you." She hissed venomously. Sting looked positively giddy, but he always was a total slut for drama.

"Touché." I hummed, wincing at the way she depicted Gray. Wrapped around my finger? Please. Gray had me wrapped around his finger so tight I could spontaneously combust at any moment. Preferably now.

"And _you_," she moved on to Sting, before sighing like he wasn't even worth her time. "The only reason you're going with her is because you got rejected by that goth kid."

"Hey," Sting held up a finger. "He is _not _goth. Just…experimental."

"Whatever. See you two at prom, hopefully not giving away your non-existent virginity." Evergreen implied, taking her leave with an annoying sway of her hips.

"Yeah well green is _not _your color!" Sting fired back angrily.

"Nice one." I observed dryly.

"What? It _isn't." _He stated clearly. "Plus, Juvia, no offense, but you're like a million times hotter than her. Seriously, in that dress, you could sway my sexuality." He winked and I pretended to gag.

"Go get me some snacks." I demanded, pushing him away from him in slight mortification.

As much as I loved self deprecation, getting ready for prom had somewhat boosted my near nonexistent confidence. My mom was a genius with makeup and hair, and she had dedicated all of her time to making me look effortlessly murderous with my beauty. Or…lack thereof.

Nonetheless, my mom and dad had made sure I knew that if I had sex to make sure it was protected (or mistakes like me would happen) _and _that no matter what, I was to take no crap from anybody. Even I'll admit that making my dad cry because I was so 'grown up' had a little bit of bittersweet satisfaction to it.

"Fine. I'll meet you in Lisanna's room, don't pretend to have sex with anybody but me, or I'll get jealous." Sting warned with a dangerous wink. I hate him so much sometimes it hurts.

I shook my head and turned towards the steps, scaling them carefully with my moderate heels, but not without help from the railings. I was pretty terrible at balance in the first place, and adding an extra two inches of heel wasn't helping me stay vertical whatsoever.

Lisanna's room was empty, thank god, and was also remarkably cleanly, for someone who couldn't organize her locker on her life. All over Lisanna's wall were decorative photos plastered against corkboard, ones I recognized from long ago. Ugh. 2014 Juvia really needed to learn what concealer was.

The photos were mostly of Levy and Lucy, but also contained many of me and Erza, occasionally Elfman and Mira, and other friends from school throughout the years. It was rather nostalgic, actually. Here I was, nearly a month away from graduation, and all over the walls were pictures of me back when I didn't have a care in the world.

I plucked a photo off of the wall, holding the push-pin in one hand and the photo in the other. It was one of me, Lucy, Lisanna, and Erza, all posing in front of the school library with dorky, annoying smiles on our faces. Levy was distant in the background, sitting at one of the tables, miles ahead of us in studying.

We all looked stupidly happy.

I felt myself smile despite my very best efforts. As weird as these past few months had been for me, I had some pretty great friends, and a pretty good life.

I heard the floorboards creak behind me and I sighed, tired of Sting's theatrics. And it was only 5:00 pm.

"If you're looking for embarrassing photos of me, look no further." I joked at my own expense. Not that I cared if Sting saw me back when I was even uglier than I was now, Sting's opinion meant less to me than the mold in the girl's locker room.

"Oh trust me, I am." The voice, that definitely did _not _belong to Sting, said from behind me. My entire body recoiled in pain and embarrassment. Why me. Why.

I forced myself to look around and my heart stopped.

Like, actually stopped. I had to force myself, mentally and physically, to will my heart to continue beating.

It just wasn't fair. No matter how good I felt about myself, or how much makeup I wore, nothing could ever compare to him.

"Juvia," he nodded in my direction, a curling, half smile on his stupid smug-ass face.

"Gray." I quoted, folding my arms over my abdomen protectively.

He looked criminal in his tux, really. Black always complimented him best, and I felt my breath supply run short. His hair was shiny and smooth looking, irresistible to the touch, and it was effortlessly tousled like he was intentionally trying to murder me.

"You look…" he trailed off, taking a hesitant step forward and breathing out. "Really great."

"I should hope so," I pestered, placing my hands on my hips and pushing my hair back out of embarrassment. Why did I always get a million times more disgusting in his presence? "You don't look too bad yourself, Gray."

He ran his fingers through his hair and I contemplated drowning myself in Lisanna's toilet.

"Your word is gospel to me," he joked, and I felt the room lose a little bit of gravity. I shifted a bit, setting the photo I had been examining onto Lisanna's vanity table and biting my lip.

"So," I began, hoping to find a conversation topic that wouldn't revolve around me rejecting him to be his prom date. Even though I _desperately _wanted to know who he came with. "You came."

"Course I did," he laughed, turning around so that he wasn't facing me, but Lisanna's closed window. "I had to make sure Sting wasn't up to anything funny."

My knees buckled and he sent me a knowing smile. Then, he sat down on Lisanna's bed, admiring the rows of photos on her walls. I felt as if he were inviting me to sit with him, so, like a huge dumbass with weak knees, I followed his lead and sat down beside him.

"Nice tie." I noticed, it was a deep red in color. No doubt matching his date. His date that wasn't me.

"Thanks. My mom bought it." He smiled and I laughed a little bit, his joke was funnier now that I had actually met his mother.

"She must be proud," I mimicked, straightening the tie out a bit and invading his personal space without thinking. He stayed silent as I fidgeted with the base.

"She is," he murmured, eyes fixed on my fingers as I pulled away from his chest. I immediately retreated my hands to my lap and silently fiddled with the midnight colored fabric of my dress.

I bit the inside of my cheek as a silence lapsed over us. It felt like we both wanted to say a million things, but neither of us could work up the courage to actually begin.

"So, hey, I found out something interesting about Holy Angels." Gray started awkwardly, one hand in his pocket and the other one habitually running through his hair, which I had a sudden urge to touch.

"What's that?" My voice ghosted as my focus drifted to his face, which was looking even more angelic than usual. It was really ridiculous how good he looked, it was like he didn't even realize how gut-wrenchingly painful it was to be in his presence.

"It's…not all that far from Bloomington Tech. We might be seeing a bit of each other in the future." He informed me with a guilty smile.

Oh god. No, no, _no_. My one goal in life – to escape my meta-crush on the most attractive boy in the universe. Ruined. Crushed. Destroyed.

"That's…" I opened my mouth to say something, but faltered.

"If you're not sick of me already, that is…" He tempted, indicating that this was something I had to swallow first, not digest. It wasn't like he was proposing marriage, or anything.

"That's…great!" I finished with the most plastic smile I could conjure.

"Right?" He asked excitedly. Did he just scoot closer to me? Or is my mind in a Gray-induced high, like there was some sort of drug I could pop in his presence and immediately be reduced to the blubbering mess I always was.

"Yeah, I mean…maybe I can mooch more coffee off of you," I spoke, decidedly taking advantage of him versus the much more terrifying objective of telling him how horrified I was that our campuses would be close.

My months of preparation…my efforts…all of it, into a poof of smoke!

Why couldn't I have just fucking googled the location of Bloomington Tech. Why did my fatal flaw have to be gorgeous men with a hero's complex?

"That, I wouldn't mind." He informed me kindly. Oh, fuck me six ways from sundown. He looks like an angel in disguise. And that disguise is another, more beautiful, more exquisite angel.

I felt a breath escape from between my lips, and I was tempted to bite them some more, even though my mother had told me that if I bit my lips she'd personally pluck my eyeballs out and make me eat them. In case you're wondering where that douse of violence came from, it's only due to the fact that she spent an excess amount of her time drawing my lips into a painfully sharp, maroon color, one not nearly bright enough to make me look as pale as copy paper, but just dark enough to still make me look kind of sinister. It was a look I enjoyed, and didn't fancy ruining with my annoying habits.

To my utmost and fear-induced surprise, Gray seemed to notice them as well.

As I slowly let myself breathe at a steady pace as he and I both ignored the glaring silence and focused instead on other things. For me, it was the way his lashes gracefully blinked and looked as peacefully undisturbed as a flower field.

Fucking Christ. I sound like I just leapt out of a page of Twilight and vomited up some garbage that Stephanie Meyer tried to pass as quality writing. Fuck.

Nonetheless, his eyelash game made me damn jealous. If I didn't know how incompetent he was with craft glue, I would've assumed he was wearing falsies.

"I like your…" he echoed suddenly, eyes still fixed onto the lower half of my face like I had tattooed his name on my jaw. "Your…uh…"

There were a thousand things he could've named that would've made me as happy as a kid on a four day sugar high, but unfortunately, destiny had to rear its hideous head like the self-righteous bastard that it was.

"Ehem…Juvia…" Sting's voice emitted from the hallway by the stairs, where he swung his leg casually around like he had just witnessed a crime rather than a small meet-n-greet between friends.

"Sting." My voice sounded as tight as Evergreen's spanx. "How nice of you to join us."

Gray shot up immediately, leaving a spare bounce on the bed where I was sitting. He anxiously looked like he had been caught groping my boobs instead of simply informing me of probably the worst thing I've ever heard. Right, I guess he does think Sting is my date, which he _is_, but at the same time…

"You know I'd be the last person to interrupt this sort of…thing…" Sting shot me a look that said I've-been-spying-on-you and I made a mental note to chastise him about that later. Sting continued after his unwanted innuendo flew over both of our heads. "…Anyways, the food is here and I figured my lovely princess would want to eat before Elfman's body mass inevitably absorbs all of it."

"How _kind_," I backhanded, standing up next to Gray and nodding at him. "I'll see you later Gray. Probably."

"Yeah. Later." He silently looked diagonally to the floor, as guilty a look as they came. Dork.

As soon as we were out of Gray's hearing range, Sting body-slammed me into a different room, presumably Mirajane's. He shoved he door shut and pressed his back against it so there was no escape.

"_Dude_," He exhaled, like he'd just had the world's longest LSD trip. "He wants you. Bad."

I rolled my eyes. "And _I _want pizza. Can we go, and skip the hysterical fanboying?"

Sting groaned and grabbed my shoulder, barely skimming the straps of my dress as he shook me back and forth.

"Juvia…blind, naïve…so stupid…must you make me spell this out for you?" Sting asked innocently, tipping his fingers under my chin patronizingly.

"It's my job to make everything impossible for you." I deadpanned. He flicked my neck and sighed.

"_Fine_. If you're going to be a skank about it, I might as well just not tell you." He sniffed haughtily, brushing off his deep blue undershirt like I had somehow gotten dirt all over it.

"If you're trying to bait me, it's not going to work." I whistled, not for one second giving into Sting's dirty tricks.

"Wow Juvia, you saw _right _through me!" He applauded sarcastically, popping his cheeks like a goldfish. "You should be a fuckin' magician!"

I punched his shoulder. "Asshole. Just say what you want to say and then we can go eat."

"If you really insist…" He simpered softly. "Gray Fullbuster wants Juvia Lockser…like a starving bear wants a camp full of boy scouts."

I choked a little bit in my throat. "_First _of all…could you have phrased that metaphor _any _worse?"

"Course I could. I was thinking about using one with Evergreen and a dild-"

"Oh dear." I interrupted, slapping my hand over his stupid mouth. "Haven't you done enough?"

"Almost is _never _enough." He surmised. Then, satisfied with my knowledge that he believed Gray to lust after me, he leaned forth and grabbed my hand.

"Milady…" he nodded at the silvery blue corsage he had placed on my wrist earlier in the day. "May I escort you to the food?"

"You may," I granted, feeling particularly high on myself as he grinned and dragged me downstairs.

"Think they'll have cookies?"

"They _better_."

.

.

.

Time kind of flies when you're struggling to hide the amount of caramels you've smuggled in your clutch. That wasn't my fault, though. It was Sting's. He was the one, after all, who'd proposed a friendly competition to see who could smuggle the most fancy candies out of the prom party in one piece.

Nonetheless, I'd decided that thirty-three candies would be enough to satisfy my date. We'd agreed to eating the candies on the car ride to the actual dance, so the amount of time I'd have to keep candy in my bra and purse wouldn't necessarily be any longer than an hour or so.

Hopefully nothing would melt. That was the worst case scenario.

Photos were at the end of the itinerary for the party, unfortunate enough. I had been lucky in the makeup category, given that my mother had smeared something on the level of super glue to retain my makeup clarity. Other girls hadn't been nearly as lucky. Smudged eyeliner was a girl's worst nightmare before pictures, and the bathrooms in the Strauss house were as compact as the streets of New York City.

Adorably enough, the Strauss's had a small gazebo in the backyard, one completely ideal for prom photos. Groups of girls and guys would pose with their teeth and spandex showing, not a care in the world that in about a month they'd be on their own. Figures.

"Ready for my shoot?" Sting pondered, striking an obnoxious pose as we waited to take our picture in the stupid gazebo.

"_Our _shoot." I corrected, tasting the bitterness on my tongue. I was kind of still technically searching for Gray, and his phantom date, who had yet to make a public appearance.

He made a face of discomfort. "Don't say that, it's so hetero."

"Stop being so extra, for god's sake."

"Can I eat that caramel from in between your boobs?"

"Maybe later."

My eyes shifted up, and then down again. The sun was beginning to set, luckily it was still fairly bright and provided nice lighting for pictures, but it still reminded me that in a little over an hour, I would be at prom, perhaps the most over hyped occasion on my high school career.

"Hey, wanna play a game, baby blues?" Sting asked casually, squishing his lips together so he looked like an ugly blond puffer fish.

"As long as I don't have to relinquish any of my pride." I suggested. He half-smiled and I made an upset moaning sound.

"Ok! This is a game I like to call…hump, hitch, hit."

I blinked a few times, even though my eyelashes were seriously heavy.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

He laughed, as if my confusion were some sort of hilarious joke.

"I believe the _cool kids _like calling it fuck, marry, kill, but…mine's better."

"It really isn't."

"Whatever. Ok, I'll go first." Sting began without asking for my consent to the game. Asswipe.

Sting first began by pointing to Cobra, which he should've well known was an _immediate _kill. Then, he testily swung his finger at Lucy. That was a tough one. Then, lastly, he pointed at someone I'd never seen before.

She had long, wavy hair that was the starkest, most gorgeous shade of pink I'd ever seen. As vibrant as her hair was, it didn't rival her vivid emerald eyes that shone like literal stars.

You'd think that coming from a girl with blue hair, I'd be the first to advocate that colored hair gives you a disadvantage in outfit choices because believe it or fucking not, blue hair does not go good with many colors. I would say the same for the mystery girl's pink hair, however, she was the kind of beautiful that could strut up and kill me while wearing a paper bag. Like Erza. And Lucy. And all of my friends. Fuck.

Anyways. She was donned in a strapless red dress that made me want to spontaneously bleed out of appreciation. She also leaked the sort of happy confidence that I would sell all of my future children for.

"She looks like if raspberry sorbet was a person." Sting summarized for me. It seemed that even he was interested by the strangely beautiful girl.

"So, whaddya say? Hump, hitch, or hi-"

"Shut up for a second!" I threw my hand over Sting's mouth and watched the girl intently. There was something off about her. In between her confidence and beauty lay…a sort of uncomfortable atmosphere, like she didn't belong here.

Then, a thought occurred.

Grated, that thought wasn't very original, and it was actually accompanied by a familiar arm.

"Oh shit." Sting voiced my opinion in two syllables.

An arm reached forth and grabbed the pink haired girls arm affectionately. She grinned and easily melted into him. Her date.

Gray.

"Ah…Juvia, why don't we…" Sting, sounding absolutely guilty, looked to change the subject instantly, knowing full well of my fragile heart being shattered into billions of pieces into the grass like shrapnel.

I promised myself I wouldn't get my heart broken. I _promised _myself I didn't have a chance.

But I also promised myself that I would try. And I failed. I fucking failed big time.

"Juvia…I'm sorry…" Sting apologized sincerely, tucking his large arm over my shoulder and forcing me to tear my eyes from Gray and his mystery girl, smiling and laughing about a joke I'd never be in on.

Jealousy. Ouch.

"It's ok." I reassured in a less than reassuring voice. I felt like my soul was fracturing into puzzle pieces, only the puzzle was a billion pieces and nobody likes puzzles with that many pieces.

And if you _do _like one billion piece puzzles, then you're in for a cute surprise.

"Juvia!" Gray's voice was so recognizable over the crowd I almost lost it. Nope. I don't want to meet princess perfect. I _don't _want to see you with her, and I definitely _don't _want to cry when my mom worked so hard to make me look like Angelina Jolie.

"Yikes. Want me to get rid of him?" Sting asked, voice laced with concern. I shook my head, he shouldn't have to deal with my problems.

He looked unsure, but continued his grip around my shoulders, like an anchor as I was drowning in a sea of anger and jealousy. I really did love Sting.

He waved at me, the pink haired girl grinning cutely as she dangled off of his arm. They looked adorable together, his red tie matching frighteningly close with the red of her dress.

Gray stood in front of us, not sensing the awkwardness, and Sting was the only one who attempted to break it.

"So." He started sharply. "You gonna introduce us, pretty boy?"

I liked how Sting got all of a sudden older-brothery when he sensed something was wrong. It was an ugly, cute part of his personality that made being close friends with him a definite benefit.

"Oh." Gray fumbled and his eyes twitched from me to his date. "Right! God, sorry…uh, Juvia, Sting, this is Meredy."

Meredy smiled so wide her eyes shut, and she waved at both of us happily. I waved back. She seemed nice. And it wasn't her fault I hated her with every fiber of my very soul.

Then, Meredy stopped.

"Wait…Gray…?" She trailed off, her shining eyes flickering from me to him. "_This_…is Juvia? _The _Juvia? Or is it-"

"Ahahahahahahahahaha…" Gray laughed for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I have _no _idea what you're talking about, _Meredy_."

Meredy grinned like a fox in a hen house. I felt my inhibitions fly away, like popped balloons. _The _Juvia? Did my name fly around a lot in the Fullbuster house?

It was certainly possible, what with Ultear believing I was some sort of fashion deity, and Lyon just straight up trying to crucify me. Still. It was a little odd the way she turned from sweet and sugary to evil and menacing in the span of eleven seconds.

"It is _so _nice to _finally _meet you!" She reached out and shook my hand.

"Meredy…" Gray uttered a sound of protest. She grinned back at him.

"You know, Gray talks a lot about you at home…apparently you _encouraged _him to enter the college he loved…that's so admirable…" Meredy gushed, her eyes constantly switching from me to Gray, like she was waiting to see his reaction. Which was just his normal I'm-uncomfortable-with-the-conversation face.

"That's…uh…" I couldn't think of a way to respond. This was definitely _not_ how I expected Gray's date to act…in fact….she was pretty much the best….

"Uh…Juvia, Meredy is one of my _close friends_, she works at the ice rink." Gray annunciated carefully.

Close friends.

Is that so.

Sting lightly elbowed me, a sign that he too was in confusion and bewilderment.

"Yeahh, I missed my senior prom because some asshole gave me mono. Luckily, Gray, my knight in shining armor, suggested that he take me in order to reminisce the good 'ol days…" Meredy advertised, holding Gray like he was a product she was selling and winking at me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Meredy was yet another Sting, determined to pit Gray and I together by the end of the night. She seemed oddly invested in making him seem like a great guy, and in front of me, no less.

Sting looked down at me and mouthed two words. _Pity date_. I almost slapped him just for suggesting it.

Suddenly, Sting piped up with some actual, _interesting _news.

"Hey, I recognize you! You punched Lyon in the face!" He astounded, clapping his hand to his cheek and laughing. "That was fucking _iconic_."

Meredy glanced at her knuckles with pride. "He tried stealing some potato chips just because I was friends with him. He never saw it coming."

That's it. I love Meredy. See you on the other side, Gray Fullbuster.

"He whined about that for six days straight…" Gray mused, before shaking his head. "Are you guys in line for pictures?"

"Yup. And we're next." Sting nudged me ahead to get our photos taken. I shrugged towards Gray and Meredy and let Sting lead me to the gazebo where we were to look like an ideal couple, even though we were the exact opposite.

"Dammit Juvia, you're in my _light_," Sting complained by the time we were posing for our photo op. I rolled me eyes and took a tiny step to the right, trying to wrench my eyes away from Gray and Meredy, who were watching us eagerly. Sting absorbed the light and smiled famously, one arm locked around my waist and the other resting on his hip. I simply grabbed the arm that was around my waist with both my hands, I'm sure we looked like wannabes on the cover of a middle-aged romance novel, but whatever.

The picture flashed and Sting drug me away from the gazebo, all in the span of thirty seconds.

Before we could plan on exiting to the dance itself, I heard Meredy's voice ring out.

"Dammit, Gray, would you look at that…"

Sting and I turned, after all, we were only a foot or so away from them. Meredy held up the bottom hem of her dress with a pout on her adorable face.

"There's a grass stain! Oh, I have to fix this right away…" She trailed off, and I squinted, seeing absolutely nothing on her dress. Gray's face looked similar to mine, not spotting a flaw in her perfect dress.

"Oh, Juvia, could you do me a huge favor?" She asked, spotting me like a starving wolf and pulling me in by the wrist for the kill. "Just do the photo with Gray for me while I clean out this stain real quick? Thanks, you're a doll!"

Before I could even _think _of objecting, Meredy hurried away, Sting closely following her (but not before shooting me an annoying smirk), leaving Gray and I in a silent, momentary mind lapse.

"Uh." He mumbled, eyes fixed on the grass below. "That was…"

"Weird." I concluded.

"Yeah," he agreed quickly. "Meredy's kind of weird, but she'd been my friend for forever…"

"I understand," I nodded, thinking of Gajeel and how awkward he must feel with tiny, sweet Levy. I'd been friends with him forever, and even though it seemed weird, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

He smiled softly, a gentle, heartwarming smile that made my insides want to take a vacation forever in a volcano of happiness and doom. If that makes any sense at all.

"Um…did you want to take the picture, or…?" I trailed off, nervously pressing my lips together as his smile faded away into a grimmer look.

"I suppose we don't really have a choice, do we?" he asked rhetorically, making me feel not so great about my already nonexistent confidence. Thanks Gray, really feeling that friendship.

He walked up, not bothering to wait for me, and stood at the gazebo, looking mildly pissed as opposed to his low-key happiness from before. Yikes. I must've really put a damper on his mood.

I scooted up next to him and his hand rested on my waist loosely, setting my entire body on fire with just one touch.

Trying to lighten the mood, I decided to say something.

"Hey, cheer up big guy. I'm not that big of a downgrade from princess pinky, am I?" I lightly joked.

"Yeah." He said dryly. Fucking ouch.

He watched my face fall and then his morphed into one of fear.

"I mean – no! Sorry, I just-" he looked away and then looked back at me, obviously struggling with his words. "A lot of people are trying to…force us together? And I just…we're friends…right?"

His question rug in my head six more times. Right? We were friends. That was us. Chums buddies pals friends buddies pals friends chums. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Yeah." I gave him a faux smile and turned towards the camera, trying to look mildly happy as I was held in the arms of the guy I liked so much, despite feeling like my gut had just been kicked 87 times by third graders wearing cleats

The camera flashed and I felt Gray's arm tense underneath my hands. I wondered if he was as nervous as I was, and if so, for what reason? What in god's name did he have to be worried about around me, dorkess extraordinaire? Especially if he had the desire to put _so _much emphasis on the fact that we were "_friends_".

We left the gazebo in silence, myself forgetting to remove myself from his arm, like we were frozen, mid-picture.

"You guys look good together," the voice of Meredy perused, leaning on Sting like I usually did.

Gray made a huffing noise.. "Sure, whatever Mer."

Sting, keenly sensing the annoyance in Gray's voice, decided to help me escape.

"Well, we should be getting on our way soon…" He began, hinting that he wanted his date back from Gray's arm. He easily complied, loosening his grip and releasing me from my far-too comfortable spot by his side. Guess that was my only taste of being on par with Gray. Thanks Meredy. Now I'll never be able to enjoy a picture with a guy I like ever again, knowing it will never amount to Gray.

"Oh Juvia, sweet, sweet Juvia. Your life has really gone to shit, hasn't it?" Sting asked rhetorically as he pulled me away from Meredy and Gray towards Lisanna's front yard.

"You can say that again."

"…Ok. Oh Juvia, sweet, sweet-"

I elbowed him in the ribcage. "Shut the fuck up."

"Anything for you, darling."

.

.

.

"They may have a limousine…but we have something _better_."

"Sting that's a tricycle."

"_That_," he abruptly turned, finger pointed to the sky and suit straightened. "Is a _very _astute observation."

My eyes scanned the red rusty tricycle in Lisanna's garage aimlessly. Fortunately for us, we were scheduled to hitch a ride with Jellal and Erza to the actual dance. _Unfortunately _for us, they had yet to show up at the designated meeting place. Lisanna's front driveway that is.

Most of the teens had already either set off in their flaunty limousines, or just decided to ditch the occasion and smoke pot in the woods. In that retrospect, Sting and I were one of the few couples still lingering.

"20 bucks says they're doing it someplace super kinky." Sting leaned over and whispered into my ear, for no reason other than dramatic effect.

I leaned close to his ear. "Their car."

He leaned back into mine. "No, the treehouse." He reached up and pointed to what was undoubtedly Lisanna's childhood and winced.

Right on time, Jellal pulled up in his car and waved to us. Erza waved as well, her skintight dark gloves shimmering in the starlight like she was an empress of the night.

"Finally. The straights do something right." Sting muttered resentfully as we climbed into the back two seats, probably wrinkling our expensive prom clothing and not caring.

"Ready to have some fun?" Jellal asked, sounding frighteningly like my dad that one time he honked at a soccer mom in a mini van and we ended up having to drag race them.

"Ready to get _crazy_?" Sting rephrased, leaning over and pulling off one of my dress straps.

Erza's threatening eyes shifted back on Sting after the resonating sound of me smacking the back of his head. He respectfully lowered his hands and his lap.

"Uh, I mean, get _responsibly _crazy." He corrected. Erza smiled thinly.

Sting and I took the opportunity when the car sputtered to life to eat our winnings from the Strauss's place, all 52 caramels we had smuggled in and around our prom outfits.

"You don't wanna know where this one was," he admitted grimly, flaunting a squished caramel, which I curtly grabbed and threw out the window. Just a safety precaution.

Our precarious eating sparked little conversation from the happy couple in front, the only stared at us awkwardly from the rearview mirror like this was normal.

Jellal drove while aimlessly humming to the latest Beyonce album, which was by the way _absolutely fantastic_, as Sting and I counted the number of stickers on the roof of Jellal's car from his various trips to the doctor's office.

"I like this one. It says get well _spoon _and there's a picture of a spoon." I pointed out.

"Nice." Sting agreed.

"Juvia, make sure you say close to us at the dance, ok? I don't want anything inappropriate happening." Erza specified, giving Sting her painfully accurate glare.

Sting burst out laughing, tears and all. Thanks buddy.

"Maybe the same should be said for you two_ nasties_." I shot back. Jellal laughed a little and Erza only rolled her eyes.

"Please. I can handle myself, _you _however, are sure to attract one or two drunk assholes." Erza informed me, in a somewhat motherly tone.

"Don't you worry red. I'll kick anyone and_ everyone's _ass who tries to poke Juvia in places only Gra – _I _can." Sting covered up his half-assed mistake sloppily. I pinched his thigh with as much anger as I felt – which was a lot, considering my recent indirect rejection.

Erza's eyes narrowed knowingly. God dammit. Jellal also fidgeted uncomfortably. Does fucking _everybody in the entire universe _know I have a thing for Gray except for Gray?

"Ahah – so _anyway_," I searched for a relevant subject change. "…Do you guys like...snakes?"

Jellal wrinkled his nose. "Snakes? Juvia, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Snakes? You know, little, reptilian wormy guys who sometimes spit acid, and-"

"Juvia," Sting advised, shaking his head. "You've said enough."

Frankly, I agreed. I don't know why, snakes were just my go-to subject when I thought too hard about Gray, and how perfect he is. That and the weather.

After we walked eleven miles to the high school gym where prom was being held (theme, a starry night, I know, we're so fucking original and goddamned unique), and we only had to walk that far because both Jellal and Erza were terrified of idiot drunk teen drivers and insisted that we park far enough away so we won't risk a fender-bender.

"Why heels…" I moaned as Sting pulled me through the entrance to prom. After we turned in our tickets (which cost 40.00 fucking dollars, thanks capitalism), we were left to witness the peak of what the media told me my high school career would be. A dark, thumping room with indistinguishable moving bodies and sweaty, sweaty teens.

"Fuck my asshole with a wristwatch." Sting groaned, pulling me by the waist towards the back of the gym. "This place is like hell. Sweaty, hormonal, hell."

"Hell smells like beer." I observed. Erza and Jellal looked just as unimpressed.

"This place is a total dump." Erza said distastefully, flicking over a crappy stand-up of a plastic star.

The ceiling was decorated with tiny whitish lights, probably trying to be stars, but they looked more like glow worms and didn't do anything to lighten the mood.

"Why is everyone…rubbing everyone else…?" Jellal observed, squinting into the crowd with a scared expression.

"Poor, innocent, attractive boy." Sting commented dryly. "_This _is the height of adolescence."

"Let's pretend you didn't just say that." Erza rasped. Sting was treading in dangerous waters of Erza's jealousy. He narrowly avoided her wrath and turned back to me.

"So, what do you say, Juvia? Wanna throw away our inhibitions and dance in the pit of writhing bodies?" Sting asked me, kissing my hand and doing his best to make the dance floor sound as unappetizing as possible.

"I _do _love suffering." I told him with a smile.

"You and I both." He agreed, pulling me close and leading me to the mountain of sweaty flesh. Excellent.

"Have fun you two." Jellal waved as Sting escorted me away.

"Not _too _much fun." Erza chastised quickly. I shot her a finger gun and she shook her head at me. My beautiful mother.

"C'mon. Let's forget all about douchebuster and scope out the scene." Sting suggested to me. That sounded nice. Forgetting about Gray. Impossible, but nice.

"And _I'll _make you forget about your emo boy toy," I returned the favor, swinging his arms out and practically throwing him into the crowd of people.

He laughed. "You're on."

.

.

.

You don't really realize how much time passes until you've sent a good amount of it with Sting. He really understands how to waste it in the best way possible, whether it be asking _clearly _wasted kids who their pick for president was, or requesting horrible 90s songs to the DJ who was out of his league and age group to be DJ-ing for a high school prom.

I think the only weird thing about prom was that because the lighting was so shitty and the music was so loud, all of my senses became immediately impaired, and I relied completely on Sting for direction and focus. If I had released his arm for even one second, I probably would've drifted off into the crowd like a twig in the ocean, never to be seen again by the eyes of my friends.

Speaking of friends, I'd spotted a grand total of none of them while dancing with Sting. Seriously, everyone was so unrecognizable when they were mashed together with everyone else like vomit soup.

"Ugh Juvia…I'm _tired_," Sting moaned into my neck as the dancing in the room had pretty much been reduced to low-key swaying. The energy levels were low as everyone had either partied themselves out or were just drunk off their asses. Sting and I had just resorted to a sort of slow-dance that allowed us to both relax all the while gossiping to each other.

"Me too. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might be _sick _of hearing the song Fergalicious." I told him sadly. He cracked a smile, seeing how he was the one who had requested it three times in a row.

"It's a sad day for mankind." He replied. The song that was currently playing was only a tiny bit upbeat, not slow enough to be a slow dance, but not fast enough to prompt actual energy. If I didn't know any better, it was almost like the air was coated in a level of axe body spray and jello, making movement much harder than it should be.

"Thanks for tonight, Sting…" I mumbled halfheartedly. "You made it a lot of fun."

"I know I did, I'm great." He answered me thankfully. "You're welcome, Via."

I leaned my head against his chest, which smelt a little bit like the spiked punch and a little bit like teenage boy. Excellent. My favorite scent.

Despite the scented irony, I really did enjoy myself. Sting knew how to get me to have a good time, even in the least desirable of situations. I loved him a lot, and I'd missed him a lot when I went off to college, and he went off to wherever the hell he was going, I don't know, maybe he could work at H&amp;M or something.

Even though Sting was much taller than me, with the added height (and severe pain) of my heels, I could see over his shoulder. And for the first time that night, I recognized someone I knew. Or, sort of knew, I guess.

It was that guy. I completely forgot his name, I don't know, maybe Shadow the Hedgehog. The guy Sting liked, the one who rejected Sting. He was pretty cute I guess, with low-cut black hair that was tied into a ponytail. He was dancing with a girl with cropped bluish white hair, sort of like Lisanna.

Sting hadn't noticed him, considering he was facing the other direction. I watched the girl shadow boy was dancing with part with him slowly and go to dance with a girl, maybe her friend, maybe her girlfriend. I couldn't be sure. The important thing was, Sting's eye candy was alone.

My hands tensed. After everything Sting had done for Gray and I, regardless of its success, flashed before my eyes. Calling me to tell me about Gray's warning, going to the pool at the hotel the night of the tournament, everything. I owed him. I fucking owed him so damned much.

"Sting," I whispered quietly. "Look."

He turned his head to acknowledge that I'd said something worthwhile, and then immediately made a face like he was going to puke, except it was a happy puke. I think.

"Rogue…he looks so good in a tux, god I'm ready to die…" he groaned while hiding his face. Huh. Rogue. You know what? I'm giving myself partial credit for that one. Shadow and Rogue are close enough on the name spectrum.

"You should ask him to dance," I hinted bravely, smiling mischievously and nudging him in the direction. His face mirrored confusion and excitement, like I'd offered a threesome between myself, him and Gray. Which, now that I think about it, he would totally accept without a moment's hesitation. Nasty.

"But…I…you…" he gestured blankly at the space between us and I shrugged.

"Trust me, I'll live without you for a few minutes. Or more..." I added cheekily.

He acknowledged my cheekiness with a grin of his own. "Are you _sure _you'll be ok without me? I am smart, beautiful, and talented…a lack of my presence may cause you some withdrawal symptoms…"

I made a half-laugh half-choking sound before pushing him away. "Just get out of here, nerd."

He saluted me before sauntering off towards Rogue, as if to say _you haven't seen the last of me_, which was undoubtedly true. As if on cue, slow, tantalizing music began to play from the DJ booth, and thus began the very first dance of Sting and Rogue.

Cute. So one person actually gets a chance with their meta-crush. I can live with that.

I slowly pulled away from the crowd, like a sad preteen realizing she had no place at the popular kids table. The sad, emo life of Juvia Lockser ended like it began. A mistake that destroyed the lives of two irresponsible teens.

Ok, so that metaphor didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to. They can't all be winners.

Maybe I could linger by the punch bowls and watch kids throw back punch shots like they were throwing away their chance at a good college. Teenage suffering _did _bring me joy. Watching other people throw shots might make me feel a bit better about throwing away my shot with Gray in the long run, too.

Man. Tonight was just one big mega shit show for me.

At least all my friends were happy. Sting and Rogue. Gajeel and Levy. Lucy and Natsu. Lisanna and what's-his-name. Kinana and that living shitstain. Erza and Jellal.

And in the end, that's all that really matters, right? That everyone around me is happy. Even if I have to stand in the middle of it all and want to die.

Right. Juvia Lockser, friendship martyr. Sounds about accurate.

I felt something sharp tap my bare shoulder blade and I about lost my shit. It's one thing to get tapped in the dark, and another thing to get tapped in the dark while being lost in your teenage angst thoughts.

"Juvia! Oh thank god!"

I was met with the shocking green eyes of Meredy, as she fiddled with her hands uncomfortably. What was she doing alone? Where was Gray?

My body went into overdrive. With Gray Fullbuster on the loose, there was a keen possibility that I could be ambushed at any moment. And I'll be completely honest, I _really _cannot handle another mentally taxing situation today.

"Meredy? Hi! What are you…I mean, why are you…?" I stumbled over my words like a moron, and she laughed it off, sweeping her hands over my shoulders and steering me into the back of the gymnasium.

"I've been looking for you! You know, my feet really hurt and I was hoping you could take the reigns with Gray for a bit…just while I massage my feet, ya know, typical…" She laughed hysterically and shoved me into the folded up bleachers with a sharp _slam_. My spine went a tiny bit numb from the force and it kind of felt like more of an interrogation than a simple dance request.

"Wait _right _here while I get him!" She demanded, jabbing her finger at me and then dashing off, proving to me that her feet must've not felt all that bad if she was able to run like an Olympian on a moment's notice. Interesting.

Before I could stand by the bleachers like an idiot waiting for death, I scoped out every exit. One close to my left, the other on my right much farther away and much less optimal. Perfect, if Gray even so much as flipped his hair in my direction, I'd be able to run away and escape. It was completely foolproof!

Lucky for the plot, I was much more than a fool. I was a _foolish _fool.

"She sure runs fast for a girl in heels."

My head spun around like Mary fucking Poppins at the sound of Gray's teasing voice. Dear _lord_, how did he manage to look like a deity in the shitty lighting of the gymnasium? He even smelled great, and that was near impossible within the proximity of prom.

"No kidding." I whispered hollowly. Had he been standing there the whole time? Watching me bob my head around like a dumbass?

"She's really determined though, I've gotta admit…" he dipped his head and smiled. I found it quite infectious and smiled back. "She didn't kill your date, did she?"

I shook my head. "No, he just found the person he'd rather be dancing with…" my head shifted back to the crowd and he nodded in understanding.

"That's too bad, although I can hardly imagine the thought of you being repulsive…" He flirted, making me want to claw my eyeballs out with a rake. Was he fucking high? I should murder him for torturing me like this. I didn't fucking deserve this. I demand reparations for all the damaged body organs and human emotions he'd caused me, dammit.

"I may surprise you, I can be _pretty _repulsive…" I convinced, raising my eyebrows suggestively before letting them fall in embarrassment.

He sighed deeply and held one arm out. "Then let's find out."

The _fuck_ is that supposed to mean?

He held his arm out more rigid this time, fingers splayed openly and acceptingly.

Oh god. Oh _god_.

Before my mind could make any half-intelligent battle strategy, I dumbly reached forward and accepted his inviting hand, letting him clasp my forearm gently and pull it to his upper chest. My fingers curled and probably shook like leaves in winter as he slowly reached out and grabbed my other, dormant hand, and pulled it over the back of his neck, which was surprisingly warm.

Fucking shit, Juvia Lockser is going to die tonight.

I swallowed hard as his hand twirled around my waist, leaving a blazing hot trail of fiery nerves and his other hand took mine that had been resting on his chest.

Oh god. This was happening. I was going to slow dance with Gray and I was definitely going to die trying.

"Loosen up," he suggested calmly as he began drifting us closer to the meld of couples, swaying back and forth to the hypnotic beat, meanwhile I was hypnotized by the way his eyes flickered in the horrible gym lighting.

I was fucked. I didn't even realize how fucked I was until then – I had been fucked since freshmen year, reading his stupid global warming essay. I was fuckity fucked like a squirrel in a trash compactor.

I tried my best to obey his request, to just fucking _loosen up_ (without peeing myself, obviously. He is so perfect I'm going to _faint_), but I could barely contain the stiffness of my entire body as he fruitlessly tried dancing with my frozen mannequin limbs.

"Just trust me, Juvia…" He laughed, dangerously close to my ear as I felt my emotions begin to subconsciously pour out of my eyeballs like emotional ebola.

"I'm dying." I said back to him, like the fucked-up melted brain person that he always managed to reduce me to whenever he came close.

He laughed. Huh. He thinks I'm _joking_.

His hand on my waist was making me sweat as he continued to dance like nothing was wrong. We were just _friends_, after all, as he so generously loved to remind me. Just two _buds _having the fucking time of their life slow-dancing together. Seems legitimate enough.

"Other than ditching you, is Sting treating you well?" He asked, keeping his tone fairly civil as he avoided any and all eye contact on the topic of my date.

"Of course. You?" I responded, finding my voice as I desperately thought of _anything _but that fact that we were close enough to feel each other's breathing_._

He nodded solemnly, keeping his eye up in search of Meredy, most likely to make sure she wasn't up to any more shenanigans.

"Gray, uh…listen…" I started despite my inhibitions telling me to shut the fuck up and keep my annoying thoughts to myself. His attention was immediately diverted to me, dark eyes hooded with intent. I swallowed again and felt my eyes begin to water. I'm so stupid, Juvia just shut the _fuck up_…

"So I'm…like…really…" I stammered, pressing my lips together in shame. "…_happy_, for you…I mean, with your college and all! Like…I'm super proud, and I…sorry." I apologized for my awkwardness. I looked up at him and instead of seeing what I was expecting, a dorky smile of appreciation, I got a grim look of thanks.

"Juvia…" He said, so soft I almost didn't hear it. Oh _fuck _me. Why doesn't he just stab me already…? Just, get it the fuck over with…

"So _anyways_ what's your favorite type of snake?" I asked him, sniffing to cover up the fact that my pathetic ass had literally almost started crying while trying to spit out that stupid sentence expressing my pride in him. He was so good, so pure, he deserved the whole world.

And I was just the crazy chick with a crush, and an agenda.

"Snake?" He asked in confusion. I barely heard him. My hand was hot against his, I was probably sweating while he easily led the dance, but at this point, I'd abandoned all senses and simply zeroed in on him. Everything we'd been through for the past few months, the smiles, the laughs, the embarrassment (completely on my part by the way), the emotions I felt for him…

Oh dear fucking god. I loved Gray Fullbuster. And not the kind of 'wow I love this french fry, it's really well cooked and nice and it's better than all the rest'. No. this was the kind of full-blown love you get on the cover of a Nicholas Sparks movie starring Ryan Gosling and any hot actress, ever.

I was in love with Gray, and there wasn't _jack shit _I could do about it.

Well.

I mean, there was _one _thing.

In the midst of thinking, and Gray confusedly looking to the sky as he probably thought of which snake was his favorite in the world, I thought of all the times I'd wanted to grab him and kiss him on his stupid lips, the time he saved my ass from Evergreen, every cheeky smile and almost flirtatious banter.

If Gray Fullbuster wanted to kill me, he'd done a damn good job of sealing the deal.

With my heels on, I could just barely reach him. The mood was set. My intentions were clear. We were both seriously fucked over our asses with this shit.

I felt like prom had completely disappeared when his eyes finally met back with mine. They were calm, serene, maybe even a little bit bewildered with the way I was looking at him.

Whatever. My emotions had completely murdered my brain at the front seat and had taken the wheel. Jesus couldn't even save me now.

I leaned in, taking the hand I had around his neck firmly planted on his cheek, and kissed his stupid mouth on his stupid ugly beautiful face.

It wasn't like books. It wasn't fireworks and explosions and dandelion children singing in the distance. It was just me, him, the smell of his cologne and my faded perfume. It was his soft lips against mine, they felt like melted chocolate chips as they shifted in confusion against mine. But I knew what I wanted, and all I could possibly want in that moment was for him to feel _exactly _what I felt, right then and there.

I had to make it short, I was already out of breath and I could feel his hands sliding around my waist, holding me close to him and refusing to let me slip away like I really, _really _wanted to.

I relinquished my grip on his cheek and gradually pulled my lips away from his, but not fully escaping his grip. My lips hovered near his for a moment longer, tempted to kiss his ugly perfect mouth one more time, because he tasted like the stars (the _real _stars, not the ugly flickering ones taped to the ceiling), but instead, like a parting gift, I darted forward and kissed his cheek.

Then, I felt the fucking weight of the world hit my shoulders like the big bang and all hell broke loose.

As in, me forcefully shoving Gray off of me like he had contracted the black death and then me tripping backwards like a fuckass.

Gray's eyes opened sleepily, like my kiss had put him in a trance, before he realized fully what I'd done. The shock was written on his face, a sheer document of terror and disorientation

I'd ruined what little fragments of our friendship had remained. I'd just lost Gray.

With that little, heart-shattering detail in mind, I turned around and full on _sprinted_ out of the gymnasium like Forrest Gump on steroids.

Everything disappeared but my swirling thoughts, and the vague sound of what seemed like someone calling my name. Probably just me spiraling into insanity, who knows.

What had I done. What had I _done._

The sound of my feet hitting pavement shocked me back into reality, and so did Gray. His voice echoed like my own doom calling out to me. He was just saying my name, over and _over _again. What could he _possibly _want from me that he hadn't already taken?

Frustrated, I kicked off my heels and grabbed them, significantly boosting my speed as I made my getaway.

Except I didn't have a car, or really any plans of escape other than straight up bolting.

There was no way I could outrun Gray. I mean, I was strong and had pretty good stamina, but I was damn lazy, my feet hurt from being confined to death traps all day and _dancing_, and I knew for a fact Gray never skipped leg day.

Don't ask me how I knew that.

He would catch up to me within the minute, and then no doubt tell me how horrible I was and how _stupid _I was for ever thinking I had a chance with him.

My only idea, and my only _chance_, was equally stupid as it was childish.

Instead of running ahead to the parking lot, where Gray probably expected me to, I took a freak turn in the direction of the woods next to the school.

Right. The pot woods. Where kids went to get drunk and maybe even creepily lose their virginities. Incredible idea Juvia, you fucking idiot.

But then again, it wasn't like brilliant ideas were popping out of me today.

Gray's voice became a bit fainter as I felt twigs crunch under my feet, long with sickeningly sharp pine needles. Ugh, I was gonna regret that in the morning.

Actually…I was going to regret a _lot _in the morning…

Nonetheless, I stopped dead in my tracks by the time I was a good twenty feet into the woods, and then I grabbed the nearest pine tree branch and yanked myself upwards, perhaps ruining my beautiful prom dress and sapping myself like an idiot.

You do crazy things when you're in love.

You also do crazy things when you've just fucked up so bad you've possibly even ruined the lives of your own _grandchildren_.

I scaled the tree higher and higher until finally, I had a nice enough view of the high school, and I could safely hug my sappy knees to my chest and bawl my fucking eyes out silently, like the pathetic loser I always knew I was.

Gray's voice was carried away with the wind as he searched for me in the wrong direction. All I wanted now was to just forget him, to never see him or worry about his smiling face ever again.

But at this point, I doubted I'd ever be able to wipe the feel of his lips against mine from my memory. It was seared into my brain like a brand, DO NOT FORGET, the ultimate death sentence.

_So this is it, huh Juvia_? _Stuck in a tree and crying your eyes out?_

My eyelids began to burn, probably from all the product that was leaking onto my face and into my sticky hands. I was a mess if there ever was one.

I had just ruined one of the best friendships of my life, and for what? A few sparkling, beautiful moments where I finally felt close enough to Gray to truly show him how I felt, how I _always _felt?

It wasn't worth it. I'd rather spend a lifetime in pain beside him than a lifetime of closure without him.

Juvia Lockser, idiot supreme, had just lost Gray Fullbuster.

And all because of a fucking kiss.

I'm so dead.

.

.

.

* * *

**hello children it's murder time**

**also I lied about the gruvia kiss in the beginning. youre welcome everyone, you got your FUCKING kiss**

**are u happy now :)**

**bc i am :)**

**remember this is a hap hap birthday present to my dearie dear friends vishwa and mellylissa, they're both v cool ppl whom I love with all my satanic, empty heart, and u should follow them both (marinetters and merudys on tumblr ;)**

**hope u guys enjoy and don't mind that im skipping review responses bc a.) im exhausted and b.) ily guys so much I cant put it into words :0**

**final thoughts – due to popular request and the fact that im a slave to my readers, the next chapter is going to be COMPLETELY from Gray's pov…you guys asked for it, and now you're getting it ;) **

**as always if u have any questions/concerns DONT BE AFRAID TO PM ME or send metumblr asks n stuff! **

**hope u guys dont hate me now and bye bye**


	14. Stranger Things

**omg**

**i cant believe i did this...ive been out for a while and my friends know that i was away from technology for a few weeks due to some personal health problems...and ive been steering clear of social networking like skype and tumblr but overall writing is super therapeutic for me ,, so i finally finished this godawful chapter...**

**here it is, the final chapter of heads or tails before the epilogue :) and the epilogue is going to be the realistic ending, or the original ending, as so many of you suggested and i ultimately felt would fit the story best.**

**thanks for all of your support! ESPECIALLY from my closest friends, you guys know who you are ;)**

**(and yes, i DID shamelessly reference both stranger things and smallville. kill me.)**

* * *

**stranger things**

**gray fullbuster p.o.v.**

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**.**

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* * *

Sometimes it's hard to tell between fact and fiction.

I went to prom with Meredy. Fact.

Lyon was born with a tail. Fiction.

Juvia kissed me at prom. Fiction. And…fact.

I'm not sure, really. I think the reason it's so hazy is because the concept itself is just so _bizarre – _about as plausible as the sun spontaneously turning purple and my hair miraculously turning orange.

I just remembered warmth and confusion and a rush of swirling emotions like someone kicking down a dam behind my brain, and then she blasted the fuck away like she won the lottery and wherever THAT was, it was a half million miles away from me.

I felt like my brain was static and there was a brief lag in my motion, like my entire body had horrible internet connection and I just stood there, buffering.

Fact, or fiction?

What the _fuck _just happened?

I didn't have much else to do other than stand there, computing. It took me only 30 seconds to realize that this was an equation even the smartest computer couldn't solve, let alone me a dumb guy in a suit.

So, I ran after her.

Because somewhere among the confusion, I figured I'd never get a straight answer unless I asked her, directly. Because what the _fuck-_

My eyes flickered as I watched the shape of her dress change as she ran – she was a good deal ahead of me, and she could run like a fucking bandit, but I _knew _I'd catch up to her, even if I had to run her into a ditch. Her heels clicked against the ground rhythmically until I watched her and her stark dark blue dress disappear through the doors of the school, and into the outdoors.

What was she running from? Me? Was I imagining things? Had she really kissed me, or had my punch been spiked with some crazy LSD that makes you see the weirdest shit your brain can concoct?

"Juvia!" I called her name the second I stepped outside, the night air stealing the breath from my lungs in a cruel greeting. I couldn't see her, and I wasn't surprised. With that dress, she could probably melt into the night itself and I'd never even know.

The parking lot was full, she was taller than most cars, but I didn't see her familiar twisty blue hair over the hoods of darkness, and I had lost the cacophony of her heels slapping against pavement. She was gone.

I might've called her name a few more times, I don't know. I just kept _thinking _about that _kiss _– by now I was _sure _I hadn't imagined it – there were too many details, I could recall every scent and taste and texture like it was the back of my own hand.

But just…why?

Why did she run?

"….Just…_fuck..."_ I mumbled into the palm of my hand. I already knew Juvia was beyond frustrating. Hell, I'm pretty sure everyone in _Magnolia _knew that Juvia was a frustrating piece of work. But something was wrong. This wasn't Juvia just being a difficult self-preserving weirdo who refused outside help. This was serious, and I was doing a fucking shitty job of evaluating what was wrong.

I dragged my hand through my hair angrily after thoroughly searching the bigass parking lot – not once – but _twice_. Not a single blue head of hair to be found. She had faded away into the night and I was left in the crashing wake of whatever the fuck just happened.

She had kissed me. Probably. I think. And I had let her get away.

Just…fuck.

.

.

.

"Hey, have you seen-"

"_Woooooooooowwww,_" Sting rasped, his hand suddenly lurched forward and grasped my collar, I stepped back in surprised, because good _fuck _was he drunk. And in so little time. I had only been able to question 5 of Juvia's friends in the time since she had run off – none of them knew her whereabouts, and none of them seemed to care.

Not that I blamed them, of course. When telling the tale I glossed over some important details, such as her disappearance being outdoors and me being the reason of her disappearance.

However. Sting had been my ultimate goal of the night, and I had finally found him, slouched against Rogue Cheney on the dance floor, swaying back and forth like a drunken zombie.

"_You_," Sting drawled, bending the crook of his index finger onto my tie and tightening his grip on my collar, "look _flustered_."

Trying to keep my cool, I straightened and gently pried his hand away from my collar. "I _am _actually, and I need your help-"

"_My _help?" Sting asked, elated. "The great _Gray Fullbus-_"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his jaw, painfully sick of people making fun of the fact that I was – well, to put it lightly – _well known _around our school. I just wanted to cut to the fucking chase and find Juvia. She couldn't have escaped on her own, she got a ride from _someone._

"Where is Juvia?" My voice cut close to cracking, but I contained the entirety of my emotions into a thin grimace. Sting blinked slowly, like his eyelids were made of led.

"Joovia?" Her name spilled from his lips like broken china. "I don't? I don't know-"

I couldn't contain my groan. He was too crocked to discern what I wanted, plus it looked like he'd been with Rogue for a majority of the evening.

"Nevermind." I, regrettably, pushed Sting away kind of harshly and walked away. I'll admit that in hindsight, it was pretty rude and uncalled for, but in my defense, I was just pissed about _Juvia_. I needed to see her, I needed to hear her voice – to tell me that I had imagined everything and she was still my best friend.

Fuck. Okay, scratch that. She was not my best friend – she had _other _friends, and just because I needed her more than she needed me doesn't mean I get to call her my best friend.

That was a fresh scoop of reality for me, to be honest. Realizing that I wanted Juvia to be my friend more than she wanted to be mine. I liked her so damn much, she was funny, easy to be around, and just…real. But whenever I talked to her, I could see it. the glaze over her eyes, the way she looked, almost as if whenever I spoke to her it was like she was having a better, more interesting conversation with herself. She was a fucking strange ass girl, and I wanted her to be a part of my life, much more than I was willing to admit.

And I'd fucked up.

At least…I _think _I did…

After what seemed like hours of interrogation, I had given up. My back leaned against the horribly painted gym walls as the back of my head clunked against the corner. I didn't even flinch, I was too invested in my own thoughts. Juvia. A kiss. _Why_. Running. The echoing sound of her heels against the floor. Click clack. I couldn't get the sound out of my head. It was like the _Call Me Maybe_ of my brain. No matter what radio frequency I switched to, it was _always _playing.

The music was like a dull lullaby in the background, nursing my ache to get the hell out of the school and go home, maybe look for Juvia out in the parking lot again. She had to have gone somewhere. But then again, by now she could be all the way to Canada and I wouldn't have even seen it coming.

I felt an angry twist in my gut, what if something bad happened to her? It was dark out, late, she was slow in her heels and her dress would surely prevent her from moving too quickly. What if someone couldn't see her right and hit her with their car? What is someone kidnapped her? What if she got stabbed in an alleyway?

My mind shuddered at the thought and I clung to the hope that Juvia would kick anyone's ass who tried to stab her. But then again, she wasn't superman.

I felt someone grab my forearm and I barely recognized it as Meredy.

"For fuck's sake," she grumbled as she hoisted my arm over her shoulder and began to haul me out of the gymnasium, as if I were drunk off my ass and not just stunned and heartbroken.

By the time we were outside again, Meredy shoved me against the wall and got directly in my face, flaunting her dangerously tall heels with conviction.

"What the hell were you _doing _in there? You look like a fucking zombie! Did you pop a molly in there? Where is Juvia? I figured at least _she _could take care of you-"

"Meredy," I pressed my hand to her mouth, sick of the screeching noise she emitted when she was upset. "Juvia is gone."

Meredy's mouth formed an 'o', before she recoiled.

"You…what? Gone? But how? Gray, you don't just lose a human being, you-"

To express my frustration, I only rubbed the sides of my temples and let my hands slide up and through my hair, fisting a few clumps as they passed. Useless.

Meredy sighed, sensing my discomforts she raised a matronly hand to my forehead, as if to feel for a temperature.

"Come on, let's get you home. You look like shit." She pulled up her dress a tiny bit and hooked her arm around mine, pulling me through the parking lot with authority.

"I can't leave…" I heard myself mumble, but it was like watching someone else move in my body. I couldn't fully stop myself from walking, and I couldn't fully keep myself upright. Was this what it was like being drunk? Or was I just confused because of stupid _Juvia _and her _stupid heels-_

"Yes, you can. God, it's like hauling a million potatoes, _move, _dumbass." Meredy pulled harder and I stumbled forward ungracefully.

"So, how did you _lose _Juvia? Is this like a metaphorical lose, where you finally realized at the end of the little adorable 80s sitcom you've got going on that she's the girl for you and you've been dicking around the whole time? _Or _did you physically _lose _her in that shitpile of people back there?" Meredy joked as she pulled me deeper into the parking lot. Her words were like alphabet soup, only some letters really sticking in my mind, _lose, Juvia, people_, nothing fully made sense.

"She ran," I managed to blurt out, before Meredy suddenly stopped in front of a silvery car. "She ran, and I…my fault, I mean-"

Meredy's eyes adjusted on me for a moment, as if she were attempting to decipher is my ramblings were those of a mad man, or just out of distraught.

"Oh, Gray." She mumbled as she leaned up and kissed my cheek. "It'll be ok."

For once, those words didn't seem so hollow.

"Ok." I echoed emotionlessly. "Ok…she…she's fine." Better off, even.

"That's the spirit…" Meredy mumbled. "I'm sure Juvia's off having a _great _time at the dance, right?"

_The dance…yeah…she probably went back…_

"Right." I felt myself agree. "The dance."

"Yeah we get it, you love her, now shut up and get in the car." Meredy insisted, pushing my forward into the passenger seat. "If Lyon finds out I let you flirt tonight he'll kill me."

"Lyon can piss off," I fired back, probably the first intelligent thing I'd said after Juvia's untimely disappearance.

Meredy laughed, and then started the car. The details of Juvia's disappearance lingered on my tongue. Should I tell Meredy that she kissed me? Was it some girl code that I was supposed to do something after that?

I decided against the details while Meredy turned the radio up. Juvia would be fine, just a minor lapse. She might've kissed me by accident, if anything.

My lips stung and I touched them subconsciously. An accident.

This would all be over by Monday. All I had to do was smile, tease her, and she'd laugh and forgive me.

Haha. _Right_.

I might not've known Juvia for more than a few months now, but I knew one thing about her – things didn't just wave away like they would in the movies. And things definitely weren't going to be easy. I had no choice but to rip it off like a bandaid. Nice, quick, and stubbornly painful.

.

.

.

Two things.

One – the Monday after prom is perhaps the most unconventional, most mundane day to ever exist. I imagined that it had to be something like the day after a bachelor party, or the day before your mother's funeral.

Two – Juvia was not at school.

I mean, I _guess _I could understand why. Maybe she was embarrassed. Juvia was a woman constructed by her pride, she almost let herself get pushed off a _fucking cliff _by Evergreen and her goonies just because she wanted to deal with that whole situation all by herself, a knight in shining armor.

So yeah. Maybe she was embarrassed that she had kissed me, but it wasn't like it _meant _anything, right?

It certainly felt like something to me in the moment, but I was willing to sweep that aside for the sake of our friendship. I was no stranger to pretending something never happened, so why would it be any different with her?

I felt my heartbeat in my lips all of a sudden – that tended to happen whenever I thought too hard about the kiss, I couldn't be sure why. Probably some nervous psychology shit.

Nonetheless, I was completely alone with my thoughts in Physics. Too stubborn to text her and ask where she was – ask what was wrong, why she _ran _from me – but too curious to completely ignore it.

My fingers had been tapping against my desk for ten minutes too long – I couldn't stop anxiously _tap-tap-tapping_, like the stupid repetitive sound of her heels in the school hallway, which had been haunting me all weekend.

"Could you _stop _with that annoying sound?" Natsu snarled, noticing my habit picking up tempo on the side of my desk. The more I thought about Juvia, the more nervous I got. Which made for a not-so-healthy combination when responding to Natsu.

"Shut the fuck up." I replied without a beat in between, my eyes still fixed on my fingers.

"Whoa. Someone's wound pretty tight. Did you make some unforgettable mistakes on prom night?" He asked sweetly. I fought the urge to growl, and would've said something unappealing about his time at prom, before I remembered that he had gone with Lucy, whom I respected. And I didn't need another reason to make Juvia upset with me, badmouthing Lucy would put me pretty high on her kill list. Assuming I wasn't already public enemy #1.

"Why don't you turn around and pay attention? For _once_?" I suggested bitterly, keeping my voice to a low groan so the teacher wouldn't sense I wanted Natsu to be vaporized on the spot.

"Ok_ay_, jeez." I heard him turn around and I breathed out in relief. Natsu was my friend, don't get me wrong. But I could only take _so much of him _in one day, you know? And today happened to be zero tolerance day in Gray-land.

Today apparently was zero tolerance day for _everyone_. I spent the rest of my classes biting everyone's head off, chewing them up, and spitting them out, even if all they were asking for was a pencil to borrow. I was just not having it. My mind was too busily occupied with thoughts of Juvia and anxiety.

"Hey," this girl, Sherry, from my math class, leaned onto her desk and poked me in the arm. "Are you okay? You seem down."

She pouted and her orange-y lips looked like they were coated in a layer of sap. That was…lip gloss, I think. One time Ultear gave me a class on makeup and everything they did, but that was like an entire different world to me. Sherry's was distracting, nonetheless. And whenever she talked to me, she blinked like she had something caught in her eyelash. She was also kind of fake. Almost as fake as her electric pink hair.

"I'm fine." I grumbled, shifting my arm over to the side of the desk that she was leaning on to form a metaphorical wall between us.

She pouted, her soggy bottom lip protruding out. That couldn't be comfortable, could it? How could you wear that goop on your lips without licking it off a millisecond later?

Either this girl had the world's best self control, or she just liked to be tortured.

Probably why I didn't have a lot of female friends, actually. Just Meredy and Juvia, sometimes Kinana, but I had the feeling she didn't actually _like _me per se, she was just nice to everybody.

I didn't have a lot of friends in general. Probably because there's only a handful of qualities I can physically handle every day.

Sherry gave up on trying to press me for details a minute later, probably distracted by something in her nails, which were covered in this glittery shit that looked like it had been scooped off of a strip club floor.

I couldn't stop thinking. About Juvia, I mean. Had she done this on purpose? Just so she'd consume my every waking thought?

It was annoying. Usually my thoughts ranged from hockey, to food, and _maybe _occasionally to Juvia, but nothing of this magnitude. And the fact that she'd ditched school was only making me more curious.

Juvia always was secretive, but there was something distinctly different about this. And I wasn't about to sit around again. If I'd sat around last time, maybe Evergreen would've succeeded in blackmailing her and pushing her into the ocean.

I wasn't about to let Juvia win this game.

.

.

.

Juvia's house was just as normal as I remembered it. For some reason, I kept picturing it in my head, covered in police tape, or burnt to the ground, like the only reason Juvia would run away from me was because of some separate issue. But I was wrong, of course, and everything appeared to be in place.

I walked up to her door, my keys jingling anxiously in my hands, and I hoped that it would be her to answer the door when I knocked. My plan was to lure her out of the house by offering to buy her coffee, and then she'd get in my car and I'd drive her there, inevitably _forcing _her to talk to me.

I froze. After I replayed my plan in my head, it became much, _much _creepier.

I shook my head. Forget the plan. Just talk to Juvia.

Of course, se wasn't the one to answer the door. Instead, her father appeared, tall and young as ever, except for the fact that he was donned in a pink crewneck sweater that said _Lucky Bachelorette _and had a kazoo in his hand.

That was different. Although I suspected that nothing near normal was on the daily agenda in the Lockser household.

Her father's eyes almost burst in surprise.

"Gray Fullbuster!" He greeted excitedly, almost forgetting that he was dressed like a crazy aunt with 15 cats. I suppose it was good that he remembered me, I could imagine the stories Juvia might tell them at the dinner table. Maybe something along the lines of 'hey! My friend from school kidnaps me sometimes and buys me coffee! How neat is that?'

I cringed at my own thoughts, aside from the fact that I was stalling, I could never seriously imagine Juvia saying the word "_neat_" without being immediately followed by one of her signature baby-bird-killing scowls.

"Uh…Mr. Lockser…" I sputtered, unsure of what else I was supposed to say.

He waved it away. "_Please_, call me Mark. Mr. Lockser is my father. And he's a total _ass._" He blinked, remembering that he was in the presence of one of his daughter's friends and not his own. "What are you…?" He trailed off, regaining his senses, before a look of realization passed his face.

"Okay…Mark. What's with the…" My eyes traipsed his outfit and he laughed.

"Sorry about this…Juvia just got her acceptance letter to her dream school." He said, and I would have to be deaf to miss the pride in his voice. I felt a stab of jealousy and Mark put the kazoo in his mouth and made a festive noise before looking back at me. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Uh…right. Can I speak with Juvia?" I asked, trying to sound as respectful as possible. I'd heard stories of the fathers being the hardest to deal with, even though I knew I shouldn't have any problems with Mark, at the moment it seemed like I was an outsider instead of friend.

His frown was an immediate bad sign. "Listen, Gray. You're a great kid."

There was a _but_ somewhere, I could sense it. Just what was going on?

"But…my daughter always comes first." He affirmed, looking back into his home. I felt empty. I didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but something told me that on prom night, I had done something terribly wrong.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again, even though he didn't sound sorry. His eyes kept flickering back into his house, excited to get back to the small celebration.

"…Alright. I'll see you later…Mark." I spoke, trying not to sound prickly. It wasn't his fault, he was just protecting Juvia, regardless of how he felt about me. I would've done the same.

He shut the door and there I was again. Answer-less, and alone. It felt like prom night again, the sound of Juvia's heels disappearing into the hall like a passing train.

I lingered on the front doorstep for a moment or so, trying to figure out what my next move was. Obviously she was going to have to come to school at some point. Bu even then, would she refuse to speak with me there? I didn't doubt she had an unlimited number of tricks up her sleeve when it came to holding a grudge.

My problem was, what the _fuck _was she holding a grudge over?

I took a few steps back, admiring the view. It was weird to think that I'd only been there once before. That was a story for another time, I supposed. Still. If I made my way around the back, maybe I could get a glimpse inside…

Whoa. I blinked hazily. I needed to get out of here, that was a little _too _felonious for my tastes.

I needed a second opinion. And soon.

.

.

.

"Kidnap her."

I rolled my eyes. "I thought I said we were steering clear of illegal activities."

Ultear gave me an eye roll that rivaled my own. "Well, then, I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Christ." I groaned. Why had I even come to her for advice? Oh yeah, that's right. She was the only member of my family who wasn't my parents and whom Juvia _didn't _despise.

Ultear held up a blue and pink popsicle stick and pressed it to her nails, and then began to move it back and forth, making a horrible grinding sound as she progressed.

"I'm telling you Gray," She repeated, "I can't help you if you won't tell me what you did."

"I didn't _do _anything." I reiterated, for what felt like the billionth time despite her being the only one I'd sorta confided in.

Which…now that I think about it…was a terrible plan…trusting Ultear? I must be so far beyond desperate I've transcended to complete lunacy.

Ultear laughed, loud and shrill. "Oh _yes_, you definitely did."

I sat up off of her frilly bedspread. "I'm telling you I didn't. Don't you trust me, Ul?"

She shook her head at my bitter sarcasm, but still dignified a response.

"Gray, 'Via isn't the Joker. She wouldn't do something for no reason, just because she _felt _like being an unpredictable asshole. You did something, and it was something big, and bad." She explained, blowing on her nails once she finished grinding them.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Since when do you call her '_Via_?" The nickname was unfamiliar to me, I don't know why it ticked me off, it just did.

Ultear huffed. "Seriously? _That's _what you picked out from that?"

I shrugged, before sighing. I felt like going to sleep for an eternity. Maybe I'd wake up when mind reading was a thing and I'd finally be able to figure out what the hell was going on in Juvia's head.

"How do I fix this?" I decided on asking, seeing how we weren't getting anywhere in decoding the mysteries.

Ultear smiled, sickeningly sweet, making me regret I asked in an instant.

"I am _so _glad you asked."

"Whatever you're thinking, I'm not gonna do that." I said, not caring whatever harebrained scheme she was cooking up in her tiny little head.

"I didn't even say anything! Besides, I've seen, like, a _gajillion _rom-coms. I'm skilled when it comes to winning your girl back." She told me, shuffling forward on her knees like she was about to beg me to let her help me.

"She's not _my girl_." I scoffed. "I just need a quick remedy." What was it with people and assuming Juvia and I were a couple? We weren't like that. I mean, until, prom night. I think. I hope.

Ugh. I hated this awful confusion. I wish I could just know _exactly _how she felt, and maybe even exactly how _I _felt.

It was her turn to scoff. "Quick remedies don't exist in romance, Gray."

I glared at her cheeky little smile. She was _eating _this shit up.

"It's not romance. Juvia and I are strictly-"

"Friends? Colleagues? Acquaintances? Please, Gray. Spare me your pathetic '_I'm-an-emotionless-boy' _act. Because that's probably reason number _one _why Juvia dumped your ass on the sidewalk like yesterday's Juicy Couture." She glowered, leaning forward so that her elbows were resting on my bent knees.

"That's-"

She held a hand up, effectively silencing me. God, why was I listening to her? How old was she, like 13? She was such a brat it made me bite my cheeks to keep from cursing her out.

"Don't bother trying to defend yourself. We all know you bottle up your emotions and sink them to the bottom of the sea instead of, you know, _talking _to your friends and family." Ultear averted her eyes for a second, and I could swear I caught a glimpse of anger, or maybe pain in her eyes. But it was wiped away in a matter of seconds as she continued. "You need to be honest and open with _yourself_ as well as everyone around you. That's step one. And if you can't even get past step one, then maybe you don't deserve to have Juvia back."

I blinked. She said all of that in only a few seconds. I was puzzled.

"What do you mean by-"

She held her hand up again. "I think you need to be asking _yourself _these questions, Gray. Not me."

I blinked again. Since when did my 13 year old bratty sister offer sage, counseling-worthy advice?

At least, I _think _that's what all that was.

She smirked, satisfied with what she'd done.

"I only take cash, by the way." She informed me greedily. I gave her the side-eye. I may have appreciated her words, but there was no way in hell I was _paying _her for it.

"Do you have any ideas, or not?" I asked gruffly. She patted her hair – which was conveniently tucked away in an intricate Juvia-like fashion – and sat down next to me on her bed.

"One question. Have you ever seen _The Notebook_?"

"No kissing in the rain."

"You're killing me Gray. Really, honestly, killing me."

"Next." I clarified. She really was getting into the idea of these rom-com movies.

"How about…_Sixteen Candles?_"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"No."

"Oh, that was mean…no wonder Juvia hates you…"

I flicked her neck in annoyance. She yelped and rubbed her neck, like I had shot her instead of merely flicked. She had a knack for overreacting. Even though I loved her, she sure knew how to push my buttons.

"Alright, alright. What about…_Say Anything_?"

I sighed, loud and long, unable to believe I had been compromised in this position.

"I'm listening."

.

.

.

I figured that before I did anything _truly _outrageous to attempt Juvia's attention, I'd see if she actually showed up at school after three straight absences. She couldn't keep away forever, not if she wanted to keep that acceptance letter.

Ultear told me that this was a bad idea – that if she really wanted to talk to me, she would've done it already, and that approaching her in a public setting could be dangerous – but I promptly ignored her. Just because she's my little sister doesn't mean I'm going to let her take the reigns full time, you know.

I eyed her government class carefully. I hardly knew anyone in the class – maybe this was a hazard of being an "antisocial douchebag" as Meredy so kindly referred to me as whenever she was pissed. Or maybe it was just full of kids I don't know.

Speaking of kids I don't know. Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes pulled up to the classroom simultaneously, too absorbed into their own conversation to notice me lurking by the door. Maybe this was for the best. Or…maybe not.

It's funny how even after going to the same school for four years straight, you can really find yourself knowing nothing about someone who may have sat directly across from you for an entire year. Erza Scarlet may have had the reputation of an Amazon in the gymnasium, but I had spoken to her personally, maybe twice. Her rumors spoke for her, it seemed.

But I knew for a fact she was close with Juvia. They had arrived to the prom party together. Jellal was actually a nice guy, I recognized him from the occasional gymnastics meet. They were a power couple, from what I'd heard.

Not that it mattered to me. I had a strict agenda.

I forced myself to move in front of them, blocking the entrance to the classroom. From the looks of surprise on both of their faces, this was probably a rude move, which hadn't been my intention. Oh well.

"Hey." I said, trying to be friendly, although even I couldn't fool myself this time. The hostility was evident and it came out as more of a gruff demand than a kind greeting.

Erza's thin, brown eyes narrowed. She really knew how to be intimidating, but I didn't really have anything to lose.

"Can we help you?" She asked sharply, making it seem like even if I replied with a "yes" her services wouldn't be made available.

"Maybe," I answered instead. "Can you tell me where Juvia is?"

Erza looked at Jellal, as if silently communicating "_get a load of this guy_" in their very own couple's language. Jellal sighed and shrugged at her.

"Who wants to know?" Erza questioned. My eyebrows furrowed.

"Me. Pretty sure I made that clear." Yikes. I could feel myself slipping into frustration, and taking it out on Juvia's friends wasn't going to get me anywhere. I had taken a wrong turn into no man's land.

"Listen." Erza said harshly, suddenly inches away from me. She was tall, in a reeling sort of way, she hung just below my eyes and yet she seemed to be as high as a skyscraper. Jellal watched silently, hanging behind with a slight dip in his eyes, a look of disappointment. Was that directed at me? Did they know something I didn't?

"You might _think _you have noble intentions," Erza continued. Right. She was talking to me. I met her glaring gaze and took the storm on headfirst. "But I know _trouble _when I see it. Stay away from her, if you know what's good for you."

Erza spun around, her red-velvet ponytail slapping me in the chin as she did so. I closed my eyes and let out a breath. That wasn't how I saw that going, at all.

Still. The exit of Jellal and Erza into the classroom left the hallway open for a potential Juvia run-in.

Yup. Like I was _actually _going to follow the advice of a scary gymnast.

It felt like I stood there for the entirety of the day. In reality, it only totaled up to about 20 minutes, and that was only because I had arrived at school particularly early due to Lyon trying to catch some breakfast deal at McDonald's at the crack of dawn. I managed to hitch a ride only_ after_ I promised not to tell Mom and Dad that he had a bottle of Jack Daniel's nursed away under his bed for times of trouble.

That was beside the point. There were only three minutes until class officially began when I started to lose hope.

Of course, in times of dire hope is when the miracles begin.

I saw her from across the hall, headed my way. She looked just as I remembered her, which made a ton of sense considering I'd only been on Juvia-withdrawal for less than a week.

She was wearing a faded navy t-shirt with a white insignia of a boat anchor, and matching white lace print shorts that hugged her thighs like lotion to skin. Her soft dark blue hair was pulled up into a rough ponytail, and she was looking down at her shoes like she was counting the steps it took to get to class. I was suddenly struck with the memory of her forgetting to wear shoes to school. I felt myself smile, before I pulled my lips back down into a thin line. It was time to get serious. This was my chance to finally get some answers.

"Juvia." I called, surprising myself with the quiet calm of my own voice. It sounded rehearsed. She looked up, doe-eyes startled like I'd honked at her from my car.

Her hands instinctively flew to her backpack straps, she was only 20 feet away from me, but I could see the flurry of emotion in her eyes.

Now I _know_ Juvia isn't exactly a master of subtlety. But what she did next was so obvious it was criminal.

In one second, she wheeled around, facing the opposite direction, and speed-walked away.

I blinked. Hard. What the fuck?

Shaking my head, I took off to follow her, moving fast enough that I knew I would catch up in about 15 seconds. I turned the corner and froze. She was gone. A-fucking-gain.

I pressed my hands to the sides of my eyes. She couldn't have been far, she's _here_, she's hiding from me, but _why_?

"Hey! Kid!" An adult voice boomed from behind me. I turned around, almost zombie-like. My one goal of the day had been foiled, I didn't have much else to work for. It might also be that ever-so-rumored senior slide affecting me.

"Shouldn't you be in _class_?" The freshmen year math teacher asked me, almost giddy that he had caught me in the act of almost skipping. Class hadn't even technically started, this guy must be beyond dead inside to be this excited over busting me for not really doing anything.

"Shouldn't you be teaching?" I retorted, the bite in my voice absent. It was like talking through a pipe, I just didn't have any energy to deal with this guy. He looked like he'd been through enough. His floppy brown hair was thinning and sad-looking, and his glasses rested messily on the tip of his nose. I don't even want to talk about the state of his clothing.

The teacher's eyes narrowed at me, upset that his authority had been challenged by a punk kid who happened to be a good three inches taller than him. Then again, I was taller than most of my teachers. Maybe this guy just wasn't used to it, busy teaching five foot nothing freshmen.

I should probably give him a break. Everyone was tired, school was almost over, I shouldn't even bother being an asshole. We're all just trying to make it through the day.

"Young man," he began, already leaving a sour taste in my mouth. "I suggest you find your way to class before I give you _detention_."

I don't get it. All teachers threaten detention like it's five years in Alcatraz. All it is, is an hour of peace and quiet I won't get at my own home. Not all that bad.

Plus, the way he called me "young man" kind of pissed me off. I get it. He's older than me. Who really gives a fuck.

"I suggest you close your fly." I replied coolly, relying on my earlier observation that in his messy teaching outfit he'd forgotten to zip up his own pants.

His jaw opened and closed, before looking down to see that I was indeed correct. He kind of turned red, like a cherry jolly rancher in the sun. I lifted my eyebrows, embarrassed _for _him that he was losing a minor battle with a half-asleep teen.

"Didn't anyone teach you to _respect _your elders?" He asked through gritted teeth while zipping up his fly.

I shrugged, unsure why I was wasting my time with this guy.

"Sure. They also taught me to zip after I put my pants on, but I suppose your parents skipped that step, didn't they?" I implied, lightly shaking my head like it couldn't be helped.

"That's _it_." He said, now he was fuming. I wasn't sure who exactly got his panties in a twist, but it was safe to say that they had been knotted boyscout-style long before I decided to fuck with him. A dick move on my part, but could you blame me? I was pissed. Juvia was blatantly ignoring me, and Ultear sucks at plans, and I can't talk to anyone else about my frustrations. Might as well vent out my anger on an uptight teacher. "I'm giving you detention."

Hooray. An hour of contented silence, maybe accompanied by Natsu. Less hooray.

"Sure thing." I muttered out of disinterest.

He cocked an eyebrow, confused that I wasn't cowering in fear like his limp little freshmen.

"If you're that happy about it, better make it a _week _of detention." He sniffed.

I knew very well that he was out of step, but I shrugged again. "Knock yourself out, man."

His lip twitched awkwardly, like a caterpillar that had fallen from its tree. "Fine." He spat, before retreating into his classroom, most likely to get me my detention slips.

The school bell rang, informing me that I was officially late, no thanks to me being a major asshole.

Nice move Gray. At this rate, I'll be arrested before I even take one more step in Juvia's direction.

.

.

.

Physics was a different story. Juvia couldn't run from me in there, the closed classroom confinement ought to bring her to her senses.

Then again. We are talking about Juvia here.

I sighed loudly and rolled my bag onto the floor next to my desk. I felt like strategizing on how I would approach her would be overkill, but she seemed flat out determined to pretend that I didn't exist. Something I didn't take too kindly too.

I didn't want to feel it, but I was getting pissed off. The last thing I wanted was to confront her with bitterness, but it was getting to that point. Keeping my emotions in check when Juvia is around is like trying to hold onto a swarm of bees. It's just not possible. She has that way with people, a way of bringing out the most of every emotion. It was both terrifying and honorable.

My eyes stayed glued on Lucy Heartfilia and Levy Mcgarden, two girls whom I had minimal experience talking too. They were both pretty girls, in their own respective ways, and nice enough. I just didn't get around to that much socializing.

I knew they were Juvia's friends, though. That and Natsu was obsessed with Lucy. In the weirdest way, too. He always managed to wriggle Lucy into every conversation despite me and the rest of his friends trying our best to stop him from doing so. It was a talent. Like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but with Lucy. For example, a conversation revolving around homework. Homework is on paper. Paper comes from trees. Trees are outdoors. The sun is outdoors. The sun is yellow. Lucy's hair is yellow. Lucy.

It's exhausting, really.

Levy looked at the clock on the wall and shook her head, mentioning the name Lisanna Strauss. That girl could barely keep her head on straight let alone arrive to class on time or without books flying out of her hands in every direction. It was actually kind of funny seeing how she would arrive every day, and in what shape.

I tapped my hands on my desk and watched the door. Waiting for her to walk in so I could make my move.

Yikes. Again with the context. It seems like no matter how I phrase what I'm about to do, it always gets a murderer-vibe.

Then, she made her appearance.

Half of her hair had fallen out of her ponytail, like she'd wandered through a hurricane on her way to class. Clumps of curly blue hair framed her face and despite it all I still think she looked pretty good. Sue me, I have eyes. Even if Juvia is my friend, I can admit that she's clearly a 10/10 even when she looks like a drunken sloth.

Her eyes flickered across the classroom. They lingered on me, and for a moment we made clear eye contact, for the second time that day. She yanked her eyes elsewhere, like she had been staring directly into the sun. Motherfucker.

I stood up, my chair making an unpleasant groaning noise at the unexpected force and speed of my departure. I saw Juvia's eyes bulge at the sound, they were wide and blue like a whirlpool and she jerked away so fast her hair swung around.

It didn't matter. She couldn't ignore me forever.

"Juvia." I said, sending my hand forward to lightly grab her forearm. It was a little direct, but I really needed to get my point across.

She looked around for an escape, but I had cornered her at the classroom door. She was too far away from her seat in the back to slip past me.

She swallowed and bit the inside of her cheek. Why was she acting like this? Like I had murdered her hamster and thrown it to the wolves. She remained silent.

"Why won't you talk to me?" I demanded, wishing I could've sounded more calm and collected.

She tilted her head and breathed out, still refusing to meet my eyes stubbornly. She was starting to really piss me off.

"Is this about what happened at prom night? Because-"

Her head snapped up like I had awakened her from a decade of slumber.

"Nothing happened!" She said quickly, the words jumbled and frantic. Her eyes were pleading, almost sad. Maybe I had misjudged the situation.

"Okay," I said, breathing a sigh of relief and releasing her arm, which I had begun to squeeze a good bit too tightly. She looked away, a shaken, shameful story written on her face.

I really had misjudged this. This whole time, I thought she was _mad_. Now she just looks…sad.

"You know," she started, rubbing the spot where I'd grabbed her arm. I felt a pang of regret, but she continued without meeting my gaze asking for forgiveness. "You don't have to pretend to be my friend anymore."

Now _that _was something I wasn't expecting.

"You're…what?" I stammered. A million conversations ran through my mind like a sped up record. Me telling her _hundreds _of times how much her friendship mattered to me, me buying her _coffee_, talking to her, alone in a hotel room, alone in my _room-_

Didn't she fucking realize how much she _meant _to me?

I blinked a little bit at the severity of my own thoughts before directing my attention back to what it _should _be on – Juvia.

She scoffed like I was stupid for not knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Come on Gray. You've got your college. I've got mine. We don't have any use for each other any more." She said icily.

I felt my heart seize up. Why was she doing this to me? Had she always felt this way?

My mouth went dry, but the words were already falling out. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize our friendship was for commercial benefit only." I said back, just as coldly as she had fired her response. A familiar flame went off behind her eyes and her lip curled. I had provoked the dragon. The problem was, I was more than happy to take the heat. I'd rather have heat than nothing at all.

"Don't act so stupid. You and I _both _know this could never work out." She said, her voice cracked on the last syllable, and she looked shocked and embarrassed for herself, but only for a moment.

The question was on my lips. But I think I already knew the answer.

"_What _could never work out? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, but I felt numb. I knew the answer. I just didn't know why.

She froze up, the word in her mouth. I wanted her to say it. I wanted to hear it in her voice, sharp and beautiful.

Instead, she lowered her eyes, and shook her head, over, and over again, before pushing against me and almost running to her seat.

I wanted to pretend I hadn't seen the light hit her hidden eyes. I wanted to pretend she wasn't about to cry. But I knew what I saw, and no amount of delusions could make me forget.

I stood in the doorway, my fists clenched, until I felt like there was nothing left I could do. I walked back to my seat, sparing her as many looks as I could. Her back was turned to me, and I could hear her lightly conversing with her friends. They looked shaken, like they had overheard a majority of our less-than-private conversation, if you could even _call _it a conversation.

"If you want, I'll inject him with my insulin," Lucy's soft voice threatened in a playful, friendly way towards Juvia. I knew they were talking about me. I didn't really care what they thought.

I cared what Juvia thought, though.

"It'll probably only give him low blood sugar, but still…"

"Thanks, Luce. But it's not necessary." Juvia replied quietly.

_Can't break what's already broken_, I thought miserably. This day was shaping up to be all and all the shittiest day of my high school career.

I just don't understand. Why was she so sad? And why was she pretending that everything was over?

I remembered the answer to my question. What could never work out? It was us. She wanted to say _us_. I don't know how I knew, but I'd never been more sure of anything else.

The question was, why would she phrase it like that? _Us _is definitely a word that provokes romantic interest. We were just friends. Why was she worrying about all of that?

That's when the tiny voice in the back of my head began its inquiries. "_If you're just friends, then why did she kiss you?"_

I didn't know. I just didn't know. Hell, I didn't even know how _I _felt. I had been so worried about her I didn't even think about what I had thought of the kiss – of everything that had happened.

The physics lecture was all but nonsense in my head. All I could think, see, and hear were my emotions. Anger, raw and red, at myself for the most part. I had done this, undoubtedly. I had hurt her, both her arm and her feelings. I couldn't shake the shine of tears in her eyes as she walked away from me. A stabbing sensation echoed in my gut. _My fault_. I'd never felt more guilt or _anger _over someone's feelings like this before. I wanted to make her feel better. I had no fucking idea _how, _but if I didn't do it soon, I'd lose my mind.

What was it that Ultear had said? "_You need to be honest and open with yourself as well as everyone around you. That's step one. And if you can't even get past step one, then maybe you don't deserve to have Juvia back_."

Honest and open with myself. If that was the only way to fix this, I'd do it. I had to.

.

.

.

That's it. Detention _definitely _feels longer when you're running out of time to patch up one of the most meaningful relationships in your life. Or it might just be me.

I'd only been sitting for four minutes when this epiphany dawned on me. Some saint I was.

There were only three kids there, all junior guys. I recognized them from the basketball team, I think. They were making half-assed comments about me under their breath, something to do with hockey and the state championships. Probably regarding the rumor that I had beat the shit out of some guy on the opposing team for the final matchup. Don't have _any _idea how that one started, Kinana told me some time ago that it was because sometimes I look kind of "scary and brooding" but I took that with a grain of salt because she saw her boyfriend, Cobra Drake, brooding scary guy extraordinaire, as a giant cuddlebear.

Just then, somebody new arrived. Somebody I recognized.

It was Gajeel Redfox, Juvia's close friend and local walking advertisement for delinquency. Or something like that, I think that's what Natsu called him. He just looked like the kind of guy that would knock your teeth out for looking at him funny, but he went to prom with _Levy Mcgarden_, so I suppose looks could be deceiving.

Then, and idea struck.

Like six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Gajeel. Juvia's friend. Juvia. He knew her. Maybe he had information.

I lifted my head up and carefully watched him take his seat. Then I hauled my shit and went to go sit by him, causing the junior guys to lose their shit and scramble up a new rumor, I could see it now. "Hockey Star Befriends Piercing Mascot, and Unexpected Duo."

And they say girls are gossipy. Stereotyping is so shitty.

Gajeel looked at me like I had lost my marbles. I wanted to tell him that Juvia Lockser had stolen them.

"Pretty boy," he acknowledged my presence. I didn't bother correcting him, what did I care? I was here for strictly business.

"Redfox." I greeted, surprisingly monotone. "Can I talk to you?

"I don't suppose I can _stop _you." He shrugged, giving me the go-ahead. I was about to start asking him questions at rapid-fire, but he asked me a question instead.

"What brings you here?" He asked, looking out at the whiteboard casually, like he had expected this exchange to happen all along. Puzzled, I barely formed an answer.

"Uh…backtalk." I admitted, semi embarrassed that it wasn't something more badass. He smiled softly. "You?"

"I ate one of the teacher's pet rats." He replied, glancing at his fingernails with pride. I subconsciously scooted my chair back and he laughed.

"Jesus _fuck _you kids will believe anything." He laughed harder, and I felt myself lean in and almost smile. He had a weird sense of humor, but it was oddly infectious.

"We're the same age." I replied dryly.

"Sure thing kid."

My eyebrows lowered. I got the feeling he enjoyed the benefits of his brutish appearance a little bit _too _much.

"So, Juvia." He began, without asking me what I wanted to ask him about in the first place. "I hear you've been having some issues on that boulevard?"

I blinked. "Uh…yes. Exactly. And you're close with her, I just need some…insight. Man-to-man." I clarified.

He looked at me like I was the dumbest fuck to ever walk this earth. And the weird thing was, his look was so intense I actually started to _believe _it.

Then he exhaled, like he was preparing himself for the worse. "Well. Spit it out. What do you want to know?"

I sat back, surprised he had actually given me the time of day instead of just clocking me in the jaw and telling me to stay the fuck away from Juvia, something I would've done if I was in his position, regrettably enough.

"What did I do?" I asked immediately, wishing that he was Juvia herself and not just a messenger.

He sighed, as if to say "it's complicated".

"Nothing, apparently."

I squinted. What the hell did that mean?

Gajeel shook his head. He really must've thought I was a dumbass.

"Nevermind." Gajeel muttered. "Any other questions?"

My jaw dropped and then shut. He didn't even answer it. Well, he kind of did, but it didn't resolve any confusion.

"Did she…did she kiss me?" I asked him, quieter this time. It wasn't that I really doubted we had, I just wanted to hear it from someone else. I wanted the bizarre to become tangible.

He nodded gravely. There's one straight answer.

I stopped for a moment, thinking it over. How exactly did he know all of this stuff?

"Just…how much does Juvia tell you about what goes on in her life?" I asked hollowly.

"Everything." He said, in dead seriousness.

I swallowed, not sure if what I was feeling was jealousy or embarrassments. Of _course _Juvia had friends she talked to a lot. Just because I met her a few months ago and am already attached to her doesn't make me number one on her friends list.

"Then…you _know _our friendship wasn't fake…at least, not to me, right?" I asked him carefully, praying he'd give me the same answer as the one in my head.

He paused for a moment, before nodding. I smiled, feeling relief flood through me. "Thank god I'm not the only one."

"I _also _know, that your…" he stopped, thinking for a moment, "_friendship _isn't the normal kind…"

I chewed on that for a minute, not expecting that conclusion. I was so sick of having to question every little thing someone said to me.

"I don't follow."

Gajeel heaved a breath. "Of _course _you don't."

I snapped. "Look, if you think you can just-"

He waved his hands in front of me. "Alright, alright, relax. Just so you know, Juvia _always _told me how smart you were. I'm beginning to think she might've been a bit mislead."

I tried not to feel like he had fed me that information just to butter me up. Juvia? Complimenting me behind my back? Sounded like a deleted Twilight Zone episode.

"You might be smart," he breathed out, "but you're as dense as a motherfucking brick."

Dense? That was a word I hadn't heard before.

I felt a million more question pop up into my brain, and before I could start mentally sorting them into a list graded by importance, I knew I really only had one question left.

"How do I make it right?"

He grinned, slowly, like a shark with its eyes on a tasty, unsuspecting scuba diver.

"You're asking the wrong person."

Great. Another cryptic question, just what I needed.

I was about to look him right in his unsettling red eyes and tell him off, but then it hit me.

Ultear's voice, talling me to be honest with myself. My neglect of my own thoughts and feelings. I thought back to prom night – dancing with Juvia, the way she froze up when I talked to her. Her nervousness on the floor and the way she looked at me. The way it felt when she kissed me.

I paused at that memory. What had it felt like? What had _I _thought of it?

And I wasn't thinking about _quality – _no, it had nothing to do with that. I was thinking about how it felt to have her that close to me, to be near her after being around her and talking to her that night, her voice, her smiling eyes, her arms…

How had it felt? It wasn't _nice_, or _good._

It just felt…right.

I leaned down, grabbed my bag, and stood up. I was an idiot for taking this long.

"I have to go." I said to no one in particular, and then I left detention, without a single fuck to give left in the bank.

.

.

.

I feel like Ultear warned me about this.

On the drive out of the parking lot from school, like god himself wanted to flip me off one last time before I threw myself into the abyss, it began to rain. Slowly at first, but by the time I actually got into gear and started driving full speed, it was pouring like someone upstairs decided to dump the entirety of the Indian Ocean on top of my car.

Not that I cared. I had been so stupid. I should've just listened to everybody. Including Ultear. She was the one with the thing for dramatics and the rain, after all.

I gripped the steering wheel, tight. This was probably about the stupidest thing I've done since actually go with my gut and try to attend business school. And by stupid, I mean amazing. And by amazing I mean terrifying.

I realized it. And it was fucking _Gajeel Mcstuds _to help me do so, of all people.

I had been so busy trying to ask everyone else questions, I forgot to ask myself.

And now I knew the answer. At least, I'm pretty sure I did. I guess I'll know when I get there.

I drove for ten minutes straight, my eyes glued to the window washers wiping the pounding rain off of my windshield. It barely helped, I could still barely see and had to be guided by the cars ahead of me. But I remembered the way, and I knew it well.

Only five more minutes. The roads turned suburban and the bends got steeper. My mind whirred like a brand new clock that had just found the time. I felt like a clock, too. I could feel the time ticking in my veins, like if I took too long in one place I'd flatline on the spot.

I'd never really been a fan of self-realization, or any of that knowing yourself bullshit, because it had never really mattered until now. I never had anything to lose. Now that I did have something to lose, it seemed like there was a slight possibility I could be too late.

Whatever. I was almost there anyway, and I wasn't just going to let myself sink halfway out to sea.

When I pulled into her driveway is when I began to have second thoughts. They buzzed around my head like unkillable mosquitoes, whispering doubts with conviction. I didn't really have time for them at the moment, so I swatted them away, even though they were all just in my head. The doubts had manifested so much it was almost like they were there, living, breathing, and yelling at me to _turn back_ and that I was _making a mistake._

I'd made enough mistakes. This couldn't be one of them.

Juvia's house looked just as alive in the rain as it did in the sun. It was without a doubt her home. It held a piece of her, maybe it was the way the house smelt. Or maybe that was just the rain, which kind of reminded me of her too.

With horrifying gravity, I realized a lot of things reminded me of her. I saw her in things that weren't even relevant.

My hands gripped the steering wheel. That was it, I was scared. And it was the kind of fear that solidifies in your blood, and clogs your throat until the only thing you can do is open and shut your eyes. The kind of fear that's rendering me immobile, sitting in my car like a stunned idiot in front of Juvia's soaking wet house.

There's only two bits of advice I can clearly recall when it comes to paralyzing fear. There's Lyon's voice, telling me to "_man up and quit acting like a pussy_," words that my father may or may not agree with, and then there's my mother's voice, cool and knowing, telling me to "_take a deep breath and jump."_ She used that advice for a lot of stuff actually. It always gave me the impression that she had tried a _lot _of stuff in college.

Nevertheless, I felt like my mom's advice was more valuable, and that it was all I could afford to do now.

I opened my car door, pulled my jacket over my head, and ran towards her house.

Only, I didn't stop at her front door,

I looped around the side of her house, dashing past some bushes and plants that had been somewhat neglected in trimming, and had grown past their limitations and crept towards the side windows of the house. I ran past the kitchen window, which was only slightly visible past the sheets of rain that were pouring down relentlessly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

I kept running, my feet working endlessly like the hands of a clock. Until I was finally in the backyard, that is. I was nearly blind from the amount of rain pooling around my face, my jacket had been cleanly tenderized by the water and had begun leaking already, into my hair, and my shirt. I placed a hand over my eyes as a semi-effective visor and tried to scope out the windows in the backyard, realizing I was probably committing several crimes while I was at it. Invasion of privacy, trespassing, the usual. I searched without avail, identifying only 3 windows with almost no defining features that would give me the ultimate clue. Which one belonged to _her_.

Until I _finally _earned a speck of good luck. And I really mean _speck_.

In the corner of the third window, was a pale blue splotch, like a sticker from the inside. I recognized the shape instantly, little blue angel wings. Holy Angel wings, actually.

In the end. Her obsession with stupid college paraphernalia had betrayed her.

A grin bit at my sopping wet lips. I could barely see, but at the same time, I could see it all.

She'd better be home, or my grand gesture would fall on deaf ears. And I can guarantee that this was going to be the highlight of gestures in my pre-adult life. You only get one of these every couple decades.

I shuffled closer to the house, where a loose ring of stones ran around the border of the house, decorated with violets and peonies in an every-other pattern. I grabbed several small-ish rocks, because if I made even one mistake, not only would Juvia hate my guts, but I would owe her money in property damages.

Once I had what I came for, I stepped back, rain still pounding on my skin and clothing, until I could see her window perfectly. There was a shape of a dresser in the background, one I could barely see due to the rain.

I fingered one rock in my hand, getting a feel for its weight and shape. Yup, this one should do perfectly.

I aimed carefully, and flung it at her window. It hit its target perfectly, ricocheting back into a nearby plant. I paused for a moment. No response. I shrugged and picked out a new rock, slick from being held in my wet hand. I had pretty stellar aim, if I said so myself. The only potential problem with this plan was shattering her window.

I threw the next rock, it hit a little bit off target, smacking against the wooden window frame and bouncing off harmlessly. Again, no response. I was getting a bit discouraged by that point, I was soaking wet and sticky, and my clothes were heavier than my hockey gear. But the third try is always the charm.

I threw the third rock and it hit the window, squarely in the middle, with a surprising little shriek of cracking glass. Shit. I put a little too much effort into that one. I can see it now – Juvia suing my ass in court for being a creepy weirdo who never left her alone.

My heart surged when I saw a familiar pale face appear at the window, twisted in shock, as she pressed her face and hands against the window to try and see past the rain. Her cheeks squished against the glass and she stared at me for a minute. I smiled sheepishly, and she kept staring. Her cheeks looked red, either she was pressing her face against the window really hard or she was blushing. I don't know why she would be blushing though – I was the one in the position of mortification, wet and pathetic in her backyard, throwing rocks at her window to get her attention. If she really was as smart as I though she was, she was most likely embarrassed _for _me.

She ripped her face from the window and pulled away from the window, disappearing from my view. I felt myself frown, afraid that she had decided to ignore me even after I put on the show of a lifetime. Then, I was blessed with her presence at the backyard door, made out of sliding glass and leading into what I thought was her living room.

I trudged up to the door, watching her stare at me like I was an alien that had just landed and stopped in for a visit with my favorite abductee. She was wearing light gray sweatpants and a tight navy t-shirt that matched her hair color. Her hair was down. My favorite way, too, naturally wavy, like the sea.

I stood before her, wondering if she was just going to keep looking at me or if she was ever going to actually open the door. She looked lost in her own thoughts, like a full blown conversation was happening in her brain without me. She looked like that sometimes, it was kind of adorable when I'd have to snap her back into reality.

Just like now. I reached up and pressed my hand to the glass, jolting her awake as she tore the door open.

"What the hell?" She asked, just loud enough to be heard over the rain. I shrugged. I didn't have a verbal answer – and I really just wanted her to let me in, it was cold as _fuck _outside.

"Let me in." I requested monotonously when she continued to stare at me, wide-eyed.

Her lips pursed. Ah yes, her famous bitch face. This meant business.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked dryly. I sighed heavily.

"Juvia, I don't have time for this."

"Unless you're here for a total frontal lobotomy, I don't see _why_-"

"Let me in." I said again, more firmly. "Please."

She blinked, witty retort dying on her tongue. "Fine." She extended the door enough for me to pass through, dripping water onto the carpet like an untrained puppy.

I began to shed my jacket, which was dripping like a faucet on high, and Juvia grabbed it for me, holding it out in front of her like it contained yellow fever.

"I'll be right back," she mumbled, looking down and taking my jacket with her into the hallway past the kitchen.

I looked around, the living room was dark and empty. Her parents didn't seem to be present, I had lucked out. I looked down at myself, my hair sticking to my forehead and ears in black clumps, like unpleasant leeches. Nice choice, Gray.

Juvia came back with several towels and other fabrics. She dumped them on the floor in front of me, as if saying _"here's your crap, don't forget I'm still mad at you._"

I looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Get changed, they're my dad's." She said, pointing at the bundle of clothing. "You look freezing."

"What gave it away?" I asked jokingly. She didn't seem to find me funny –or if she did, she was hiding it. She turned away and disappeared down the hall. I followed her, before stopping in front of the bathroom to change like she had instructed me to. This was off to kind of a slow start – I'll admit I had a bit of an unrealistic expectation of her forgiving me instantly when she realized I had thrown rocks at her window. Ultear and her romance movies are overrated.

After I changed, I emerged from the bathroom, feeling damp, and dad-ish. Mark's clothes were close to my size, a tiny bit bigger around the waits, but we were around the same height despite me having an inch or two on him. It was nice of her to even accommodate my stupidity of hanging out in the rain, but still. I had some stuff I needed to clear.

"Juvia?" I called, she had disappeared from the lower level. I heard her footsteps from above and she appeared on the staircase, staring down at me like she was Judge Judy and I was just another one of her idiot plaintiffs.

"You look ravishing." She said in the most monotone voice I'd ever heard. I rolled my eyes, not in the mood for her moody bullshit.

"Come down here." I requested. She placed a hand on her hip defiantly.

"Just because you're wearing the clothes doesn't make you my dad." She sniffed. I gritted my teeth.

"Juvia. We're both eighteen, we can settle this like adults." I insisted, walking towards the base of the steps. I put my hand on the banister to make myself appear taller.

"Settle what?" She asked, playing dumb. It annoyed me. "I wasn't aware we had business together anymore."

"Just get your ass down here." I told her, exhausted and trying not to sound like a growling bear.

"Maybe _you _should get your ass up _here_." She replied, strictly to annoy me and sound childish.

"Fine by me," I shrugged, and without hesitation, began climbing the stairs in her direction. She blinked, like panic lights were going off inside her brain.

"Wait! Gray, I meant-"

Too late. I was standing a step below her, and I had my game face on. I wasn't about to let her win a battle I hadn't even consented to.

"Let's talk." I proposed. And this time it _wasn't _a question.

.

.

.

Juvia's room wasn't anything like I expected.

It was simple, a bright, mind-numbingly pastel teal stained the walls and her bed lay in a corner adjacent to the widow – which I had indeed cracked – and there was a dresser closer to the door. That, and a closet, made up the essentials. There were posters and other papers lying about – but nothing else that stood out to me as abundant as the rest of the furniture.

Juvia had her arms tucked protectively under her chest, eyes wandering to different landmarks in her room like she was making a mental checklist of everything she owned.

There was a slow, dismal silence between us. I could feel it on my shoulders, like I had been carrying it every day since the night she kissed me – (just referring to it as _prom night_ didn't really cover it anymore) – and it was damn near time I closed that distance.

"It's rattlesnakes." I said coolly, like I had practiced this exchange a million times before. The second I said it, I felt myself easing up, and it felt _good_. The past few days had been mentally taxing – I just didn't feel like myself. Now, I could feel the comfort of being around Juvia seeping back into my heart, like it had been missing a piece the whole time she'd been ignoring me.

She looked at me. "…What?"

Perfect answer, just what I'd been anticipating. I grinned. "It's my favorite type of snake."

She looked mortified, and her hands twitched. She remembered now. Not that I wasn't going to tease her about it.

"It's what you asked me. Remember? Right before you ki-"

"Right before I left prom. Yeah, I remember." She interrupted hurriedly. I raised my eyebrows. My theory had been correct, then. It was the kiss. That had been the root of our problems – even now, she was desperately trying to avoid the subject.

"No." I said, clearly. I wanted her to look at me, but she wasn't. She was finding every excuse to look away. I wanted her full attention. She needed to see, not just hear me. "It was right before you kissed me." I corrected.

Now she looked at me. She looked embarrassed. And angry. And hurt. Like she thought I had only brought that up to hurt her. I wanted to tell her, right then and there. To skip everything I'd been repeating over and over in my head on the drive over. The look on her face made me sick, I didn't want her to feel the way she felt right now with _anyone _else, ever again.

And I'd make _sure _it never happened. Nobody was going to hurt Juvia Lockser on my watch. Not again.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice gaunt like I'd sucked the life right out of it. She phrased the question like she was expecting me to blackmail her.

A sickening memory arose in the back of my mind. Evergreen. A girl who'd taken advantage of one girl's mistake and held it over her head for years. It made sense that Juvia was afraid of me.

It didn't make me feel any better, though.

How could I answer her in a way that would let her know that I was _never _going to hurt her, _ever _again? I was never going to let anything come between us even if I had to kick the grim reaper's ass myself.

This was it. I was a blind man, seeing the light. And this light was dressed in sweatpants.

What do I want?

"You." I answered simply.

My answer hit her like an extremely complex calculus question. Her eyes moved back and forth like she was reading an invisible script, deciphering what I'd just told her.

She squinted, before looking back at me. "Is that a metaphor?" She asked, in blank, true confusion.

I laughed. _Really _hard. _This _was the girl I liked. The girl I chose.

I don't know when I realized it. Maybe it was just one of those things – something that was always there but I never found it until I really _looked _for it. And her little episode of kiss-and-dump left me searching alright, but it was only just now, watching her standing in her own room, gaping at me, when it was _really _clear to me. So clear, that I really questioned my own well being as to why I didn't see it before.

Ultear was right. I never asked myself enough questions, until finally there was only one left.

"Don't laugh!" Juvia yelled, looking pained and _still _somewhat confused. I shrugged, I really couldn't help it. She was just too damn ridiculous.

She suddenly covered her ears, like my laugh was the scraping of nails against chalkboard. "I _get it, _okay? It was ridiculous, I shouldn't have kissed you! I made a mistake!"

I stopped laughing. That wasn't the response I was aiming for.

"Juvia, no-"

She continued, and she didn't appear to be listening to me. "-and it was in the _moment_, and I wasn't thinking straight, I might have been a little _drunk _– you know I read this article somewhere that if everyone around you is drunk, you can get drunk by association-"

My eyes strained. What the fuck was she talking about? She looked dazed, like the person she was trying to convince of her accident was _herself_, and not me.

I recognized her situation immediately. I had done it to myself, incidentally, convincing myself that Juvia was my friend – the more times I told myself it, the more I started to _believe _it. The more I said it, the more blind I became.

"Juvia, stop." I told her, hoping that I could pull her back into reality. She looked jarred – blinking several times before looking back at me.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" She asked innocently. Ugh. She was going to be the fucking _death _of me.

I looked up at the ceiling and shook my head. "You're fucking crazy."

One of her eyebrows dipped upwards. "Is this a recent realization? Or…?"

I sighed. Fuck it.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked, impatiently, and my reason for asking being that I didn't feel like I even _deserved _to kiss her after all the_ "friendship" _bullshit I'd forced her to endure throughout the course of our friendship. This was her call, not mine. And I wanted her to be the one to decide whether or not our first kiss was a mistake.

She took a half step back, eyes bulging and face pale, like I had asked her for a much more gruesome favor than in actuality. My face began to fall. That was a little harsh.

"Is this some sort of a…of a _joke _to you?" She asked me, her eyes still wide like glimmering sapphire and her voice stripped of humor.

"This isn't a joke!" I insisted, frustrated that she kept referring to everything I said like I was some terrible asshole who was only talking to her so I could bring her further embarrassment. Didn't she have _any _trust in me?

"Oh my…" she blinked, looking down at her hands, as if to inspect how many fingers she still obtained. "I'm dreaming. Oh my god. That's it."

Fuck's sake. "Juvia, you're not dreaming."

"You can't read in dreams," she informed me while nodding, "that's the trick. Where're my books…"

Holy fuck. She's crazy. I hate her. No, that's a lie. But still.

"You're not dreaming." I affirmed, the annoyance biting into my voice. "Juvia, please, just _listen _to me."

She stopped. She was looking out the window, watching the rain hit the glass. I had almost forgotten the rain, my hair was almost dry and I wasn't damp anymore.

I took that as a sign that she was listening to me, even if she wasn't looking at me, like I had hoped.

"Juvia. You aren't dreaming, this isn't a joke, I'm _fucking _serious. I would never do something like that to you and you _know _it." I reiterated. Every time I spoke I took a step closer to her, and I didn't notice I was doing so until I was close enough to smell vanilla perfume and rain.

She didn't even move. She just stared out the window.

I swallowed. Was this a rejection? I had seen this going a lot better in my head.

Maybe I had misjudged her feelings. Maybe her kissing me really _was _a mistake. Maybe I'd missed my chance.

"Juvia." I said, struggling to find the words I was searching for. "If you…if you want me to leave, I will."

Just like that, she turned around, her eyes full of confusion. Her lips moved, but no words came out. Then, she dipped her head back and closed her eyes, shaking her head like she couldn't believe she was actually in this situation.

"Gray," she began, meeting my eyes, _finally_. She was beautiful. Even as I was _sure _she was about to ask me to leave her alone forever, she really was.

She hesitated before speaking again. "Gray…if you don't kiss me _right now_ I'm going to throw myself out of this window." She tapped one of her nails on her window and looked back at me expectedly.

Oh.

…_Oh._

Before I could contain it, a smile broke out. She always did have a habit of surprising me in the end, even if she had to put me through hell to get to her first.

I reached forward and pressed my hands to her cheeks, they were cold at first touch. I remembered seeing them pressed up against the window and wondered if that was why, before realizing that I didn't really care.

Before I could even _try _to pull her up to kiss me, she jumped forward and pretty much forced a kiss on me – not that I minded – and she smiled as I kissed her, her hands weaving around the back of my neck as a constant, happy reminder that we were actually _doing _this – _us_. Juvia had been wrong when she said we'd never work out. We'd both seen stranger things, after all.

I was about to close my eyes and _actually _kiss her – when she abruptly pulled away, still smiling, and only inches away from my face. I briefly wondered how she managed to come up to my height, when I realized that she was standing on my feet. How very conventional.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, somewhat softly, considering we were still close enough to touch.

Then, she reached up with one of her hands that had been around my neck and slapped my jaw.

It didn't hurt, but it sort of surprised me. "What the hell?" I asked her ludicrously. She was shaking her head.

"Nothing. Just double checking." She replied, before musing, "I owe Gajeel 30 bucks."

I raised my eyebrows. Betting on our first official kiss? I guess I wouldn't put it past her.

I pushed a piece of her curly blue hair behind her ear. It was so long. So pretty.

"But _while _we're still talking…" Juvia began, not pulling away from our standstill but still implying that she would withhold any kissing before I gave her the information she wanted. "Why are you doing this?"

I breathed out. "I already told you."

"Yeah, but…" she wobbled her head around for a moment, "I want to hear you say it again."

Cheeky asshole. She was going to drive me crazy. More so than usual, and that says a lot because I live with Lyon.

She was grinning, and it was annoying. I wanted to kiss her and turn that smile into something much different, but the intelligent part of me tells me to do what she says.

"Fine." I agreed begrudgingly. "Juvia Lockser. _You _are the one that I want."

She closed her eyes as her smile extended. "Perfect."

I smiled back. "Do you believe me now?"

She opened her eyes and shrugged. "Kinda."

My eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "Kinda? That's cold."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Can you blame me? Juvia Lockser and Gray Fullbuster? Who knew?"

I tried not to look taken aback when the answer was already on my lips.

"I did."

She blinked once or twice, before laughing. "Pfft. No way. You are not pulling that love-at-first-sight bullshit on me right now. I was an asshole to you when we first met."

I guess I had to give her that one. It definitely wasn't _love _at first sight. But it was…something like that. Because the moment I saw her in Physics class, I knew she was something special.

"I can pull whatever bullshit I please after you pulled a disappearing act on me." I retorted, somewhat bitterly. She bit her lip and shrugged, out of partial embarrassment.

"I can't be the only one who thought Juvia Lockser and Gray Fullbuster was a fantasy." She responded.

"Pretty sure you're the only one. Have you ever noticed any of the people trying to constantly push us together?" I noted, thinking back to all of the people who'd ever called us a couple, or at least hinted at it. The list was as long as the list of people I knew, it seemed.

"You can't blame me for feeling out of my league." She pointed out. The hand she had slapped me with returned to its place around the back of my neck and I reached back to hold her hands there, enjoying their warmth as much as I was enjoying myself. My other arm was placed firmly at the small of her back, where I could feel the soft material of her t-shirt in peace.

"Out of _your _league? I thought you were going to murder me for even _coming _here!"

"Gray. For the love of god, we can talk _later_." She suddenly urged, leaning forward so that I could close the distance between us. I ignored the fact that she was the one who had instigated the conversation, and instead decided that now was a _perfect _opportunity for me to get to an _actual _kiss with my new girlfriend – one that wasn't interrupted by fear or doubt.

Yeah. That sounded pretty good to me.

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**highkey rewrote this chap like 11 times and im still not 100% happy...but this came close...**

**again, only 1 more chapter after this one! thanks to all of you for sticking with me even after my long hiatuses and issues, and if u ever need to contact me i should be able to get back to you on here (however for tumblr and skype it might still be a while, im currently working things out and im about to be a junior in high school so)**

**anyways...review responses bc i hate myself :,)**

**.**

Missgogatsu: hahah thank you! stuvia brotp is somethingim happy about! and as always sorry for the wait :,( im not a consistent writer lol

GruviaM3: does this count as updating soon? :,)

Purple Pancakes: thank you! im so happy youenjoyed those aspects of the story!

Kiri: love u too

Mimia: HAHAHA sorry for the late update :3

Guest: ;) ;) ;)

fallenstar2013: thank u for this review! i got to practice my spanish bc damn it all went down the drain over the summer ! and sorry gray doesnt swear _nearly _as much as juvia...and there were much less death puns, and puns in general. you get the picture.

Lili: this review made me laugh ily

LateNightShips: ;) ;) always

oink8: its my loyal duty as an author to torture with feels! hope u liked this chap ;)

umjustjerememe: this is cyberbullying im being CYBERBULLIED on my own account

Laudi14: lmao sometimes shes just as blind as gray haha hoppe u like this chap

muffin-dragon227: this review reminded me that im still SUPER BEHIND on your amazing story and i want :) to :) die :) anyways i love your reviews so MUCH can i DIE and thank u for ur words on meredy i tried SUPER hard with her character...and yeah juvia is definitely pan or bi...she aint hetero for REAL ..also i had so much trouble writing gray. i feel like i fucked it all up and its gross and messy but,, i guess ill just have to live with it. 1 chap out of 14. rip. and you got the five months until i update thing right...yikes my writing time. okay but ILY AND I MISS U SO MUCH I HOPE I CAN COME BACK TO TUMBLR AND SKYPE SOON BC I MISS U!

nattersfluff: LMFAOO your reviews are great and im glad u liked the chap ;) hope u like this one too!

jUsThAvEhOpE: LOVE U

guest: LOVE U AND THANK U!

endingsarenotalwaysbad: asfgf. im crying i. love your reviews.. im so happy u like sting and sorry he wasnt in this chap as much :( but still.. and omg HAHAH if gray went to prom with ultear that wouldve been funny too.. but she had a part to play in this chapter, kinda. and yeah 40 dollar tickes is pretty normal, mine are going to be 50 bucks just for the ticket :,) and yeah i hope i did semi ok writing gray bc it was lowkey hard as fuck i barely understand whats going on in that boys brain...but still I HOPE U LIKED THIS CHAP ILY!

Kori no Koibito: I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS its so neat hearing from a non gruvia shipper abt my story...unique..rogue and sting are so good together its CLASSIC im in love. im glad you like juvia, and oh YEAH when i typed *her girlfriend i actually sort of meant it to be that way...i was ATTEMPTING to apply that rogues date was yukino and she was gay too...it didnt work very well but oh well. LOVE YOU AND THANKS FOR THE REVIEW

merudy: CHEKA SDFGHJ..LOVE U SM...SO GLAD U LIKE MY RATTY CHARACTERS... PS. meredy should shove a caramel up grays ass hes dumb...and ily2 ;)

Leaffeather: :000

Guest: will do ;)

Wolf to the Stars: i know im a RAT AT UPDATING! haha i hope u like this chap despite it being late...as well... oops

Guest: LOVE U

Guest: ;0 ASDFG THANK U FOR STICKING WITH ME THIS LONG...ILY PRECIOUS SOUL

a total fangirl: AHAHAHAH yeah im terrible at this

PeoniesandPoppies: thank youuuu and nice profile pic ;)

Guest: omg. thanks for pointing that out...it was probably just another subplot i had initially planned on doing and then scrapped bc i wanted to focus more on gray and juvia...oops...but heres a gold star for noticing ur a real winner

flawed12 : thank you! i hope u like this chapter too!

Wolf to the Stars: its an authors job to mess with emotions ;/

LateNightShips: IM HERE DW

jadejackson44: i already answered this review but ILY STILL

.

**until next time ;))**


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